As the one year mark for last year’s iPad release gets closer and closer, we all start to wonder what the 2nd generation of iPads have in store for consumers like us. If you have been paying attention to any of the rumors flying around as of late you should know that the iPad 2 will be receiving a camera. Now whether the camera will be identical to the high quality iPhone 4 camera or if Apple will try and cram a few more megapixels into this iWonder that Apple has created.
Now there is no way of telling yet what will happen with the iPad 2 but we should find out some more details when Apple holds their conference at the end of February to announce iOS 4.3 among other things. 4.3 for iPad users means the use of gestures which ties into another topic that may regard the iPad 2 or the iPad 3 only time will tell. A patent was uncovered that shows Apple patenting the idea of a smart bezel which means a buttonless world for all the iPhone, iPod, and iPad users.
But back to what the iPad 2 may have in store for us, it will most definitely feature a front facing camera for perfect video chatting with family and friends. It will also feature a rear camera for taking pictures and most likely HD video. It will be interesting if Apple decides to put 1080P video recording into its tablet. If so the iPad could become the video editors haven, all the iPad would need is a few customizable lenses that you could attach and voila you have you have a DSLR camera and an iPad. That may seem crazy but who knows what the future holds when it comes to new technology and innovation. Apple will most likely be upping the megapixels because they have a much bigger area to cram everything into verse the tiny iPhone (which by the way they are going to be upping the iPhone 5’s camera to at least an 8 megapixel or so the rumors go).
We can expect or hope for (whichever suits you better) a retina display to come to our beautiful 9.7 in. display. The processor will be seeing a speed boost and will enhance productivity tremendously. Ah what else is going to be stuffed into this amazing device next. But what I think all consumers would like to see is a price drop even if it is not significant but hey a $100 dollar price drop is a $100 dollar savings and these economic times I think everyone is looking to save. Then a possible memory upgrade but I am not sure how likely a 128 GB iPad is since Apple tends to only double the amount of storage but it would be very nice for all of us music and video connoisseurs. We can count on an April release if Apple sticks with what they have done in past. With that being said we can all sit back and wait until the end of February rolls around and we can see some concrete details about our newest member of the iFamily.
Rumored Features Summed Up
1. Dual Camera’s
2. Possible Retina Display
3. Two models: A seven inch and the 9.7 inch
4. A SD Card slot and a USB port
5. Faster processor
6. Thinner design
7. More RAM
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Year: 2020
Jailbreak Software – Is It Legal?
There is a lot of interest in jailbreaking iPhones and other electronic devices. But is it legal? I’m going to discuss that in this article.
There are two main issues that come into play when we talk about jailbreaking. The first is that phones are often bound to a specific carrier when they are first manufactured. Many cell phone users are very happy with their specific, physical phone, but not with their carrier. They would love to port their phone to a new carrier. Others would like to be able to sell their cell phones on Craigslist when they’re done with them to get a little money back out of their investment. However, it’s difficult with a phone that’s locked to a certain carrier, because they have to find a buyer that has a contract with the same carrier. Good luck with that. When a phone is bound to a certain carrier, it’s often referred to as being in cell phone “jail”, hence the term jailbreaking. This used to be illegal. However, as a result of a recent court ruling, it has now been deemed completely legal in the United States.
Locking phones, or putting them in “jail” goes back to the late 1980s. Ever since carriers started engaging in this practice, hackers have been finding ways to unlock them using jailbreak software. This jailbreak software would generate a key that tricked the phone into working with any carrier. With the rise in popularity of the iPhone, and Apple’s restriction of their use to AT&T, this practice has gone mainstream and become widespread.
I mentioned above that there were two main issues. The second is specific to the various models of iPhone. One of the features of the iPhone that has contributed to it’s massive popularity is the ability to purchase and download “apps”. Apple only allows users to download apps from the official App Store. However, there are possibly even more third-party, unauthorized apps out there than there are in the App Store. Once you do a jailbreak on a phone, you can then use these unauthorized apps.
You’ve probably heard of the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (The DMCA). This was the law that regulated “pirated” software. The act made it a crime to hack or crack any security measures that the manufacturer or copyright owner added to their work or device to prevent it from being copied, altered, or used in an unauthorized manner. This was interpreted to also apply to cell phones and the software that ran on them.
In July of 2010, however, the Library of Congress issued new rules for what they referred to as “fair use” of copyrighted materials and software. This of course, also applied to cell phone operating systems and software. The Library of Congress was authorized by the DMCA to make revisions to the law due to the constantly and ever-changing nature of digital media and intellectual property.
The new “Fair Use” rules issued by the Library of Congress officially and explicitly made it legal to unlock cell phones and similar devices either by manually hacking them or by using automated jailbreak software. It also explicitly states that once unlocked, it is legal to use a phone with a carrier other than the one which it was intended for use with. Furthermore, it states that it is legal to bypass software locks in order to use apps from third parties.
Other new rules, not specifically related to cell phones, that were put into effect include:
Making it legal to
The 2010 rules issued by the Library of Congress officially authorize consumers’ ability to:
Making it legal to to “unlock” the encryption on video games and to make copies – as long as the copies are not shared.
Making it legal to bypass hardware dongles on PCs that are used for copyright protection – but only if it’s because the dongle is no longer functional. This rule obviously needs to be clarified
Finally, occupational and disability related exemptions were put into place. Teachers, film students, and film makers are now legally permitted to unlock DVDs for educational or critical purposes. On the disability side, blind individuals are now allowed to legally crack security measure on e-books in order to make them compatible with read-aloud type software.
iOS 5 Jailbreak – Still Worth the Trouble?
Today, Dev-team released Redsn0w 0.9.8b1, capable of jailbreaking the latest Apple operating system for mobile devices, iOS 5 (beta).
This is a tethered jailbreak which means that you will have to connect your device to a computer and run Redsn0w in order to achieve ‘jailbreak mode’ on it.
With all these improvements added to iOS5, is still worth to jailbreak your device?
I used to jailbreak my iPhone in the past in order to obtain higher customization level for it, gain access to settings that were not available in the official iOS, tweaks that could improve my iDevice experience after all.
Many of these ‘improvements’ are already available with iOS 5, still few are missing.
In my opinion, iOS 5 is a great step forward for Apple, which seems to have learned from the jailbreak community in the benefit of their clients. Wish that many companies would do the same (e.g. Sony).
Some of the features that helped Apple achieving this step forward are:
Unified notifications
Phone-to-Phone messaging
Newspaper/Magazine subscriptions
Advanced reminder system
System-wide Twitter integration
Quick-camera access
Photo editing tools
Tabbed browsing
Reader view
Reach text email
PC-free setup/updates
Wi-fi sync
Not many of the today’s mobile operating systems are coming with so many features making iOS one of the best mobile operating system on the market today.
Still, the question the jailbreak still a necessity?
Many users will say “YES”, jailbreak is a ‘must have’, probably because they are not aware of what the new iOS can do, some still may have favorite applications which are not available in the new iOS (e.g. BiteSMS), but many will stay away from jailbreak from now on because most of the features that they jailbreaked for are now part of the OS.
In the past, jailbreaking was considered illegal, voiding your device warranty.
Few years later it all become legal as long as you are not installing / using paid applications for free by using the jailbreak tools.
Today, jailbreak means more than just allowing non-signed applications to run on your device (Apple require that every application that runs on your iDevice to be signed with a certificate, this way they have a better control over their device and the applications that runs on it), it became a cult.
We still have to wait until the final version of iOS 5 is released, but by taking a look at the beta version, iOS incorporated features that no other mobile operating system can be proud of, making iOS 5 one of the best releases that Apple come out with.
New Challenger For Apple iPad – Acer Tablet Computers
The Apple iPad has been dominating what comes to the ever increasing tablet computer market. However, rivals are developing their own products intensively, and latest manufacturer pushing out a range of tablet computers is Acer. They are bringing new, yet unnamed, 7-inch, 10.1-inch tablets and one other very interesting device to sale in April 2011.
All three devices are run by Google’s Android OS. Exact version of OS is not yet confirmed. Keep your fingers crossed that at least one of the three will be loaded with “Gingerbread” (Android 2.3) or even “Honeycomb” (Android 3.0?), which will be Google’s latest version of Android. Honeycomb platform is specially designed to get most out of the tablets and high-end smartphones. Just like for devices like this upcoming new bigger tablets and 4.8-inch Acer.
It is kind of hybrid between tablet/smartphone, very similar to the Dell Streak, However, Acer’s device has more life in it (power). This 4.8-inch comes with 1024X480! screen resolution and is based on Google’s mobile OS. While writing this article, there is no finalized name for this new product yet. Public got only a short glance at it, in Acer’s Global press event in New York City on 23rd of November. Tech specs include, 1GHz Snapdragon processor, Bluetooth 3.0, 802.11n Wi-Fi, a two megapixel camera (front), eight megapixel camera (rear) (with LED flash), 720p video recording!, HSDPA support, a and an HDMI output, a LED edge lighting and six-axis Gyroscope + accelerometer package. Price of the device remains unknown, but enthusiast can expect to get this beauty to their hands on April 2011.
I myself have been using Apple iPad’s for quite some time now. I’ve got nothing but good things to say about Multi-Touch screen devices. I actually think that this ever developing Tablet industry is a beginning of a completely new era of consumer information technology.
Why Jailbreak Your iPhone 4?
There are lots of reasons you would jailbreak your iPhone 4. The most common reason is to use this awesome phone on networks other than At&t or Verizon (or whatever network provides your iPhone 4 if you aren’t in the USA). Besides using your iPhone 4 with other networks (this is commonly referred to as “unlocking” with other phones), you might want to install apps, tweaks, or themes that Apple hasn’t approved for one reason or another. Like an austere father, Apple has become notoriously picky about the kinds of things it allows on its “perfect” child, the iPhone. Thus, a “black market,” full of any possible app or tweak has flourished. And jailbreaking allows you access to it.
1. Use other networks than the phone was manufactured for
Wherever you are in the world, Apple has negotiated contracts to make the iPhone 4 exclusive. It has done this to keep the price high, secure control over use, and maintain an air of exclusivity and superiority for iPhone 4 users. This is quite contrary to most other smart phones, which compete pretty openly against other smart phones and networks. Contrary to many people’s beliefs, iPhone 4 is actually the third most used smart phone, behind number one Android, and number two Blackberry. Jailbreaking and unlocking allows iPhone 4 owners to choose their network, which they might do based on price or network coverage wherever they are.
2. Install non-Apple-approved apps
Behind using a different network, this is the most common reason people jailbreak their iPhone 4s. Some of the apps available include apps that compete with Apple’s own (like Podcaster) to sick games (like Baby Shaker). Another very popular app is SlingPlayer which allows you to stream TV from your SlingBox.
3. Install tweaks, screensavers, ringtones, and wallpapers
Jailbreaking your iPhone 4 opens up a wealth of interesting tweaks to nearly every aspect of your iPhone 4. Some of the things you can change are the menu, icons, screen saver, wallpaper, and function of the buttons. One very popular tweak allows you to use your iPhone 4’s internet connection to tether other computers onto the web.
These are the top reasons why someone might jailbreak their iPhone 4. In my opinion, jailbreaking your phone really opens up your iPhone 4 to tons of functionality with pretty minimal downside risk. If you have a different opinion, chime in with a comment!
The Best iPhone Apps For Musicians
The iPhone is an amazing device with many practical uses and applications. For musicians especially, the iPhone features many handy apps that can be used for on the go music making. The following iPhone apps are great for any musician, whether they’re just a curious novice or a pro.
iDrum This iPhone app gives musicians a portable drum machine. There are a handful of different editions (hip-hop, rock, club, and more) of the app with new preset kits to satisfy any musician’s taste. iDrum turns the iPhone into a step sequencer, where users can create different beats and string them together into a song. Musicians can edit their beats on the fly and at just $4.99 this app is a valuable tool for musical iPhone users.
GuitarToolkit Every guitarist with an iPhone should buy this wonderful app. Musicians in need of a portable tuner, metronome, or chord dictionary will find all they need in the iPhone GuitarToolkit. Having all these tools accessible in one small iPhone app is very convenient. Any musician can appreciate this app for just $9.99, with an even cheaper Lite version also available.
Vocoder Synthesizer SV 5 This app gives musicians a powerful synthesizer on the go. Amazingly, it features a fully functioning vocoder (giving users a robot-like voice they can play on the iPhone screen). This app utilizes the iPhon’s microphone, so the vocoder will only work for iPhone users. Amazingly, this app allows users to save and upload patches they create to share with other iPhone musicians. This app really utilizes all of the iPhone’s capabilities, and lets musicians explore complex sounds with an onboard keyboard, recorder, and real-time filters. For an iPhone app, this is a little pricey at $16.99 but musicians will really appreciate the app’s many editable features.
Band Band is a fun app for the iPhone that can serve as a handy tool to musicians. The Band app features a playable two octave piano keyboard, a guitar and a bass. Musicians can use this app to play musical ideas at the moment they strike, so they won’t forget the great melodies they come up with. This app also includes a 3×4 drum pad allowing musicians to lay down beats on their iPhone. The best part is Band can record musicians’ ideas (even using an optional click track). At $3.99, this iPhone app is both fun and affordable. Karajan For real musicians, Karajan is an extremely useful app for the iPhone. This app lets musicians practice ear training, a valuable skill that requires time and practice. The app plays musical intervals or scales and prompts the iPhone user to identify them by ear. Chord identification is also a useful app feature for musicians. Musicians studying music theory will find this app turns their iPhone into a powerful teaching tool. Although iPhone users have to pay $14.99 for the full app, there is a free version for beginners.
These apps make portable music making affordable and fun. Any musician knows that inspiration can strike at any moment, and now it can be captured on an iPhone. The convenience of these tools makes any one of the apps a great addition to a musician’s iPhone.
Apps for Your iPhone
If you have an iPhone 4S, the newest addition to the long line of Apple technologies, or any of the predecessors, you already know what an app is. These fun little programs fill just about any need you could ever imagine. There are educational apps that allow you to learn languages, read newspapers, and do mind exercises. Others are purely for amusement, and even more were created to help users find things that they need, such as restaurants or locksmiths. There are literally thousands of apps available directly through the manufacturer’s store. What you might not know, though, is that there are thousands more that are available outside of the App Store. Many of these are even free!
Cydia Apps
Cydia Apps is a webstore that offers third party apps for your iPhone 4S or other model. These apps aren’t available through the Apple store, but can work on nearly any version or model of iPhone. Just like the apps in App Store, Cydia Apps offers informational and entertainment apps, as well as those that enable you to further personalize your iPhone’s appearance and operation. One of the most popular apps released this year allows users to completely change the look of any screen used by the iPhone. This makes your phone completely your own. Others include massive banks of ringtones and sound effects, and those that automatically dial or change the volume of your phone. Your iPhone is not readily prepared to use these apps, however. In order to take advantage of the thousands of free and inexpensively priced Cydia Apps you must first jailbreak your phone.
Jailbreak
To “Jailbreak” your phone means to unlock it from its restrictions, allowing it to use software other than that is offered by the Apple manufacturer. This simple process involves purchasing jailbreak software and applying it to your iPhone. In just a few minutes your phone will be unlocked and you will have expanded control over its use and appearance, as well as the ability to utilize many more apps than you would have with a locked phone. Doing this does not prevent you from using any of the apps that Apple offers; you simply get the best of both worlds.
With past software meant to jailbreak your iPhone there were times when the iPhone would undergo routine firmware updates through the manufacturer and, as a result, would re-lock. This meant that the user would have to unlock his phone again if he wanted to continue accessing the expanded app capabilities of the jailbroken iPhone. With the improved software of recent jailbreaking programs, however, this is no longer a problem. Even after firmware updates that are occasionally applied to your iPhone, the Jailbreak will remain active, and you won’t need to go through the process again.
Android Phones and How to Make the Maximum Out of Them
In the world of endless technologies cell phones are one of the gadgets that undergo advanced updates at the blink of an eye. This is because it has gathered a global outreach in the recent past and it can be rightfully termed as one of the basic necessities as is food, clothing and shelter. So when the demand is so high the developers aim to raise customer enthusiasm by introducing newer and improved mobile phones in the market. Amongst these the Android OS integrated phones are considered to qualify for the highest caliber in mobile technology and hence there is a lot of hype with every minute advancement with the phones like the iPhone.
Some of the best phones in the current market include the iPhone4, Motorola Droid Bionic, LG Optimus 2X, HTC Thunderbolt and Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc. Amongst these the next generation phones have to be, without any doubt, the LG Optimus 2X and the Droid Bionic. What sets them apart is that the world’s first ever dual-core mobile processor forms their major USP. They are doubly fast and are equipped with exceptional graphics that is well supported with the dual-core processor.
There are many websites on the internet that can help you fetch resourceful information on the various top notch Android specs and its comparative study and user reviews. You are best served by these sites that have experts in the field giving you priceless reviews and comments on the latest entries in the mobile biz and their highlights and lowlights that would help you buy the right kind of the Android phone.
Once you make the right choice amongst the various phones for the best Android phone that would suit your specific needs you also need to know the various sources on the internet that advices you to get the maximum out of your Android phone. For instance, if you own an iPhone you must also know that you may not have access to all the Android phone applications available on the internet and may be only restricted to a few. However, it is even possible to get access to these restricted application or API’s by the aid of something known as the iPhone jailbreak software.
The iPhone jailbreak allows obtaining much more functionality in your iPhone than the standard ones. The iTunes App Store does not necessarily have all the apps for an Android OS integrated phone. Most of the interesting apps that you get access to by using the iPhone jailbreak are incredibly helpful and inexpensive. Some are even available at no extra cost. Your chance to maximize the use of your Android phone is by extensive research online for the right iPhone jailbreak providers and websites that guide you through their honest and unbiased reviews.
Removing IPhone Jailbreak
There are many people who are trying to figure out how to hack their iPhone with the software to unlock it allowing third party software to be installed, commonly called “Jailbreaking” the iPhone. However, what about those who want to remove the jailbroken software from their phone? there really is not much information about this process on the internet currently. As Apple begins to punish those who run jailbreak apps on their newest version of the iOS there will be many more looking for answers in this department.
If you have a jailbroken iPhone the chances are that you love the new functionality that it has offered you. Some of the biggest advantages of doing this software hack have now been added in the newest version of iPhone software. The iOS4 has added backgrounds, multitasking, folders and many more features that iPhone owners were only able to access by performing software alteration. Now that Apple has added these features, they apparently don’t want anybody to use the jailbreak software on their products any longer. If you have downloaded iTunes 9.2 or upgraded to the iOS 4 software package you have already agreed not to use this software when you agreed to the EULA (End User Licence Agreement) and there are rumors going around that they now have the capability and are using it, to check your iPhone for non standard software. This may have already led to a few canceled iTunes accounts and many think that his will continue to be an issue.
If you want to get out while the getting is good, you can come back from the dark side and for most, it is a lot easier than you might think. If the version of jailbreak software you have installed offers a “Safe Mode” which most do, all you will have to do is put your phone in this mode to sync. Once your iPhone has been backed up, you have transferred your purchases to iTunes and then downloaded the newest version of iOS you are ready to go. Be prepared for a few hours of sync time, because these backups do take some time. For iPhone owners who have the 3G model, you will not get many of the features that are promised in the software update, so do your homework first to make sure that you know what you are getting. It would also seem AT&T is already pushing some updates that are purposefully slowing down the users who have applied the jailbreak software. This is just one more reason to consider changing your iPhone back to the standard software.
No matter what you like about the jailbreak software, there are not many people who would like to trade their iTunes account for a few extra apps. After all the iTunes store has hundreds of thousands of free apps to choose from. You can now tether legally though AT&T service, so this is another reason that you may consider switching back and removing iPhone jailbreak software from your phone.
Get More Out of Your iPhone With Jailbreak iPhone 3G
Jailbreaking refers to the hacking of the iPhone, which enables users to install third party applications in the gadget. All iphones are bound to a particular carrier when they are manufactured. This varies with country and location. The bottom line is that the users are restricted to this carrier, also termed as confined to a “jail”. With the use of softwares like jailbreak iPhone 3G, one can break up this restriction, hence the term “jailbreaking”. This was considered as an illegal activity till recent times, but with a recent court ruling, it is not anymore a violation of the law.
Apple mostly restricts its iPhone users to AT&T in the United States. This obviously caused a lot of problems, because customers simply didn’t have the option to switch to other operators or carriers. Furthermore, by default, iPhones only support applications downloaded from the App store. However, there are third party softwares which have more features and are cost effective. By using jailbreaking software like the jailbreak iPhone 3G, you have complete freedom to try and use any of these applications.
Jailbreaking is often considered as a hacking process. A jailbroken iPhone means that you can install thousands of third party softwares in your gadget. This can include games, softwares, players, utilities etc. You don’t have to rely on the App store alone for your iPhone applications. Also, you can choose whichever carrier you want for a jailbroken iPhone. This ensures that you can switch to a different carrier if you are not satisfied with the service provided by AT&T. You can see that jailbreaking an iPhone opens infinite opportunities to the user. Apple has realized this and they are trying to manufacture units which can’t be hacked.
The jailbreak iPhone 3G works with iPhone 3GS, 3G and 2G. Furthermore, it is a onetime purchase, wherein you can use the software to unlock any number of iphones. Moreover, you are entitled to lifelong software updates once you are a member. This clearly shows that the company values their customers and believes in ensuring complete customer satisfaction.
The greatest advantage that iPhone users get from this software is unlimited access to movies, games, songs and other software, which were otherwise not available. With the “illegal” tag out of the equation, more and more customers are opting for such jailbreaking softwares to enter the world of infinite opportunities. What are you waiting for? Download your copy today!