Please e-mail news relating to the iPhone or iPod touch to newseditor@iphonelife.com.
White iPhone finally arrives; is it really thicker?
The mythical white iPhone arrived in stores in late April, after a 10-month delay. Some tech blogs reported that it was slightly thicker than the black counterpart, causing some tight-fitting cases to no longer work. Other sites, such as cnet.com, did find a miniscule change in thickness, but not enough to cause any problems. Most users won't be able to spot the 0.2mm size difference, if there is one.
Apple purchases iCloud.com domain?
According to a report in GigaOM, sources familiar with the company that owns (owned?) "iCloud.com" reported that the company sold the domain name to Apple for $4.5 million. In related news, other sources report that Apple has completed work on a cloud-based streaming service for iTunes music. This would allow users to store their music on a remote server and access it wherever they are. The service is expected to be free initially. Look for a possible announcement from Apple at WWDC on June 6 (after we go to press on this issue).
Users get creative with iPad portraits
It's amazing what people will do with their new toys. Earlier this year, the social media blog Mashable published a list of 10 ingenious iPad portraits, and we decided to join the fun. Here's our Web Manager, David Averbach, tapping through his iPad. You can see all the best portraits through Mashable.com by searching for "iPad portraits."
Correction: Apple's Volume Purchase Program
In the article titled "App Marketing Secrets: Strategies that Work" (Mar/Apr, 2011, page 88), the developer of Proloquo2Go (app2.me/172) stated that the App Store model presented an obstacle to his target audiences (schools and other institutions). However, before the article was published, Apple instituted a Volume Purchase Program (VPP) that eliminated the obstacle. According to the developer, David Niemeijer, the VPP "…has made it so much easier to sell apps to educational institutions. They can now purchase with a variety of methods and get a 50 percent discount if they buy more than 20 licenses of an app at once."
iPhone 4–second most popular camera on Flickr
The popular image sharing site, Flickr, publishes an ongoing graph showing the most popular cameras in the Flickr community. As of late-April, the iPhone 4 came in second place to the Nikon D90. The iPhone 4 was the only smartphone in the top 5 most popular cameras.
Does my iPhone track my every move?
Controversy brewed last month around a file found on the iPhone 4 that showed it was storing location coordinates from Wi-Fi spots and cellular towers as far back as a year into the past. Privacy concerns made their way to the front pages of major news outlets, with many confused users wondering why Apple needed to track their every move. The truth is that Apple isn't tracking anyone, and the location data exists for the purpose of increasing the speed by which you get location services when you request them. Someone with malicious intent would only know the location of the Wi-Fi connection or the cell phone towers you used (some of which may be located over 100 miles away). Here's a formal statement from Apple:
"Providing mobile users with fast and accurate location information while preserving their security and privacy has raised some very complex technical issues which are hard to communicate in a soundbite. Users are confused, partly because the creators of this new technology (including Apple) have not provided enough education about these issues to date."
The bottom line is that users must weigh the risks of using any new technology, as anything becomes harmful in the hands of someone with malevolent plans. As far as public perception is concerned, research from YouGov's BrandIndex showed that people v iewed last year's AntennaGate in a much worse light. ("AntennaGate" was about a design flaw in the iPhone 4 that prevented users from making calls while holding the side of the device.) To find out more about Apple's formal response, go to apple.com or an online search engine and search on "Apple Q&A on Location Data."
Google gives Tina Fey a hard time for using an iPhone and iPad
When Tina Fey, former SNL cast member and star of the NBC hit show 30 Rock, stopped by Google in April to promote her book Bossypants, the conversation quickly turned to tech gadgets. About 25 minutes into the question and answer session, Tina Fey said she keeps pictures of her daughter on her phone while making finger-swiping motions in the air. Google's Executive chairman Eric Schmidt, who was conducting the interview, quickly interjected by saying "… and we want you to use a more powerful phone," which drew laughter from the crowd. A few minutes later, she confessed that she uses an iPhone and an iPad and asked "…is that bad? Do you guys make phones?" which also drew a mix of playful boos and laughter. Eric Schmidt jokingly calmed the crowd by reassuring them that Google has lots of services for those products as well.
