It’s basically a larger version of the trackpad that is on Apple’s own MacBook Pro’s.

The Magic Trackpad sports 80% more surface area with full support for all the gestures that MacBook Pro users have long since been enjoying: two-finger scrolling, pinch to zoom, fingertip rotation, and three- and four-finger swipes.

The whole surface of the Magic Trackpad acts as a mouse button, but if you need the right click capability, you can easily enable it via System Preference (MacBook and MacBook Pro owners are should be familiar with this).  If you need to double click, just do a double tap.  It sounds convoluted but it’s actually pretty simple to use.

If you’re worried about aesthetics, the Magic Trackpad has you covered as it features the same design and angles as Apple’s wireless keyboard. With how good these two look together, you might wonder why in the world hasn’t Apple done this before.

The Magic Trackpad uses bluetooth to connect to your PC and Apple claims that you’ll be able to enjoy a stable bluetooth connection of up to 33 feet away.  The downside of course is that it uses batteries for power, just like the Apple Mighty Mouse so battery life might be an issue.

In tandem with the release of Apple’s second battery powered gadget, the company has also released an Apple branded battery charger.  Surprising?  Not really since it’s a good marketing strategy.

The Magic Trackpad goes on sale for $69.  Batteries and the charger are sold separately.

Any takers?

source Apple

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Post tags: Apple, Bluetooth, Magic Trackpad

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Samsung UK is giving away a free Galaxy S, complete with Android 2.1, a 4-inch (480×800) AMOLED display, a 1GHz Samsung Hummingbird CPU, a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus and swype to iPhone 4 users that were not happy with their purchases.

Samsung says it only has a few left to give away but a quick look at their Twitter feed and you’ll note that they’ve given away quite a few already. With the internet still a buzz with the antenna problems of the iPhone 4, It seems like the perfect opportunity for Samsung to market their top of the line phone.

Unethical? Maybe. Effective? Most likely, yes.

The company has issued the following statement:

“Recently there has been a real increase in online activity from consumers dissatisfied with some of our competitors’ products. We decided to contact a cross section of individuals to offer them a free Samsung Galaxy S as a replacement, as we’re confident that once people have the phone in their hands, they’ll see how impressive it is for themselves.”

source Samsung UK twitter

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Post tags: Apple, Galaxy S, iPhone 4, Samsung

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In most cases, encasing the iPhone 4 in a bumper will shield the antennas from human contact and preventing signal loss. Although the iPhone 4 will still suffer some interference when you hold it a certain way, Apple clearly believes the free bumpers will address the issue for a large majority of users.

Steve Jobs during the conference, made certain to point out that the iPhone 4 isn’t the only phone having signal issues, showing videos to the press of numerous phones from other manufacturers dropping in signal when held in a certain way.

That’s probably the closest admission to the hardware problem that Apple will give.

Wondering if you’re viable for the free bumper?  Here’s Apple’s guidelines:

• If you have an iPhone 4, you can get a free bumper from Apple.
• If you want another case—or Apple’s bumpers are out of stock—you can pick another one from some options.
• If you already bought another case an Apple bumper, you get a refund on that.
• The offer applies until September 30. At that time, they will “examine” the situation again, and decide to extend the free bumpers or offer a different solution (hmmm, does that mean an updated iPhone then?).

While this fixes the antenna problem that the iPhone 4 is experiencing, it’s a silent admission from Apple that their shiny new product is indeed flawed.

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Post tags: Apple, iPhone, iPhone 4 antenna

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In short, it’s a visual fix to the iPhone 4‘s attenuation problems. That and the fact that you’ll still be dropping calls.

iOS 4.01 update is available via iTunes.

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Post tags: Apple, iOS, iOS 4.0.1

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Apple finally issues a letter to current and would be iPhone 4 users to in response to the number of complaints, reviews and even lawsuits that the company is receiving.

If you don’t want to read thru the flak, these are the points that Apple are basically arguing:

• there is no antenna problem
• we have fired the people responsible
• other phones have the same problem
• a fix is on the way (software)
• the phone is showing wayyy too many signal bars
• it’s your fault for holding it wrong
• the iPhone is unique and magical
• math is hard

Continue scrolling below if you want to read the full letter.

Dear iPhone 4 Users,

The iPhone 4 has been the most successful product launch in Apple’s history. It has been judged by reviewers around the world to be the best smartphone ever, and users have told us that they love it. So we were surprised when we read reports of reception problems, and we immediately began investigating them. Here is what we have learned.

To start with, gripping almost any mobile phone in certain ways will reduce its reception by 1 or more bars. This is true of iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, as well as many Droid, Nokia and RIM phones. But some users have reported that iPhone 4 can drop 4 or 5 bars when tightly held in a way which covers the black strip in the lower left corner of the metal band. This is a far bigger drop than normal, and as a result some have accused the iPhone 4 of having a faulty antenna design.

At the same time, we continue to read articles and receive hundreds of emails from users saying that iPhone 4 reception is better than the iPhone 3GS. They are delighted. This matches our own experience and testing. What can explain all of this?

We have discovered the cause of this dramatic drop in bars, and it is both simple and surprising.

Upon investigation, we were stunned to find that the formula we use to calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong. Our formula, in many instances, mistakenly displays 2 more bars than it should for a given signal strength. For example, we sometimes display 4 bars when we should be displaying as few as 2 bars. Users observing a drop of several bars when they grip their iPhone in a certain way are most likely in an area with very weak signal strength, but they don’t know it because we are erroneously displaying 4 or 5 bars. Their big drop in bars is because their high bars were never real in the first place.

To fix this, we are adopting AT&T’s recently recommended formula for calculating how many bars to display for a given signal strength. The real signal strength remains the same, but the iPhone’s bars will report it far more accurately, providing users a much better indication of the reception they will get in a given area. We are also making bars 1, 2 and 3 a bit taller so they will be easier to see.

We will issue a free software update within a few weeks that incorporates the corrected formula. Since this mistake has been present since the original iPhone, this software update will also be available for the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G.

We have gone back to our labs and retested everything, and the results are the same— the iPhone 4’s wireless performance is the best we have ever shipped. For the vast majority of users who have not been troubled by this issue, this software update will only make your bars more accurate. For those who have had concerns, we apologize for any anxiety we may have caused.

As a reminder, if you are not fully satisfied, you can return your undamaged iPhone to any Apple Retail Store or the online Apple Store within 30 days of purchase for a full refund.

We hope you love the iPhone 4 as much as we do.

Thank you for your patience and support.

Apple

Press Contacts:
Natalie Harrison
Apple
harri@apple.com
(408) 862-0565

Steve Dowling
Apple
dowling@apple.com
(408) 974-1896

Daring fireball has an amusing translation for the uninitiated.

source: Apple.com

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Apple’s remains firm on the stance that there is nothing wrong with their antenna design.  So much in fact that an internal memo indicating procedures that AppleCare reps must follow when dealing with any reception complaints regarding the iPhone 4.

1. Keep all of the positioning statements in the BN handy – your tone when delivering this information is important.

a. The iPhone 4’s wireless performance is the best we have ever shipped. Our testing shows that iPhone 4’s overall antenna performance is better than iPhone 3GS.

b. Gripping almost any mobile phone in certain places will reduce its reception. This is true of the iPhone 4, the iPhone 3GS, and many other phones we have tested. It is a fact of life in the wireless world.

c. If you are experiencing this on your iPhone 3GS, avoid covering the bottom-right side with your hand.

d. If you are experiencing this on your iPhone 4, avoid covering the black strip in the lower-left corner of the metal band.

e. The use of a case or Bumper that is made out of rubber or plastic may improve wireless performance by keeping your hand from directly covering these areas.

2. Do not perform warranty service. Use the positioning above for any customer questions or concerns.

3. Don’t forget YOU STILL NEED to probe and troubleshoot. If a customer calls about their reception while the phone is sitting on a table (not being held) it is not the metal band.

4. ONLY escalate if the issue exists when the phone is not held AND you cannot resolve it.

5. We ARE NOT appeasing customers with free bumpers – DON’T promise a free bumper to customers.

There’s no news or even rumor of a software patch to fix things up (since likely, the problem IS the hardware).

source BoyGeniusReports

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Post tags: Apple, internal memo, iPhone 4, iPhone 4 antenna

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If you’re wondering whether you’ll be getting the update, iOS 4 is available only for the following Apple devices:  iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and iPhone 3G users (as well as second- and third-generation iPod touch users).  No iPad. iPhone users will get the update for free while iPod touch users will need to shell out some cash for it.

The new iOS version’s multitasking can be quite confusing to some as it’s significantly different from what we’ve seen with our desktops and of course Android.  In a sense, multitasking for 3rd party applications is somewhat limited, at least when compared to what native Apple apps can do.  Here’s a list of what apps can and can’t do:

• Audio: you can now listen to streaming music from apps, like Pandora or newscasts through the NPR app, while doing other activities on your phone. Previously, you would have to quit out of the app (and therefore stop your music stream) if you wanted to respond to an SMS or read your e-mail, and now that’s no longer the case. Hallelujah.
• VoIP: similarly, you can carry on Voice Over IP calls on services like Skype without having to quit the app if you need to perform other tasks.
• Location: apps that need to poll your location, such as GPS and direction apps, will be able to do so in the background. No longer will you need to keep the app in the foreground just so it can keep track of where you are.
• Local notifications: third-party apps no longer have to rely solely on push notifications if they want to alert you of something on your phone. If you have an alert set in, say, one of Omni’s applications, it can ping you when the time comes instead of having to go through a convoluted series of Internet tubes to get to you. This, of course, reduces your reliance on an Internet connection to get certain types of alerts and helps cut down on overall wireless bandwidth.
• Complete tasks: if you start a task in an application and then switch to another one (such as downloading a new map in your favorite game), it can now complete the task in the background instead of forcing you to sit there and wait on it.
• Fast app switching: this is basically “pausing” an app where it is, which allows you to quickly switch away from it and then switch back, picking up where you left off.

What can’t your third-party apps do while in the background?

• Grab new updates: those of you who were hoping that your Twitter, IM, or IRC client would pull down updates while hanging out in the background will be disappointed. Unless those apps make use of push notifications to alert you of new messages (as the AIM app does), apps won’t be able to check for updates on their own unless they’re in the foreground.
• Work across the entire OS: users have long hoped that some of their favorite apps (such as TextExpander) would be able to work in all parts of the OS, such as Mail and Messages, but that won’t be the case. This isn’t Mac OS X here—Apple still wants to keep each app to itself for the most part.

Like what you see? Ars has a complete review of the iOS 4.

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Post tags: Apple, iOS, iPhone

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10.6.4 performance issues affect Macs with Nvidia GPUs (includes Macbooks, Macbook Pros and several iMac models).

Steam is actually recommending holding off updating to 10.6.4 while it communicates with Apple for a solution. Here’s Steam’s official notice for mac users.

The recent 10.6.4 update from Apple has noticeable performance issues for NVidia graphic chip owners running high performance games. If you wish to avoid this, you should consider waiting to install the 10.6.4 update until Apple has had the opportunity to address this issue.

If you have already installed this update and believe your graphic performance is affected, please contact Apple support (http://www.apple.com/support/) for details on what to do.

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Post tags: 10.6.4, Apple, Mac, OS X, Steam

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List of changes for Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.4 are listed below:

General fixes and improvements

-improves compatibility with some Braille displays
-resolves an issue that causes the keyboard or trackpad to become unresponsive
-resolves an issue that may prevent some Adobe Creative Suite 3 applications from opening
-addresses issues copying, renaming, or deleting files on SMB file servers
-improves reliability of VPN connections
-resolves a playback issue in DVD Player when using Good Quality deinterlacing
-resolves an issue editing photos with iPhoto or Aperture in full screen view
-resolves an issue with Parental Controls Time Limits for Open Directory or Active Directory users
-resolves a display sleep issue with MacBook Pro (Early 2010) computers
-resolves an issue with MacBook Pro (Early 2010) computers in which the right speaker may sound louder -than the left speaker
-includes Safari 5.0; for more information about Safari 5.0, see this webpage
-Security improvements; for information about the security content of this update, please visit this article
-Fixes and improvements for Aperture 3

-adds tethered shooting support for additional digital camera models
-addresses IPTC metadata compatibility issues
-Fixes and improvements for external devices

-RAW image compatibility for additional digital cameras
-resolves an issue with using third-party USB web cameras
-resolves an issue with noise when using some third-party FireWire audio devices
-resolves pairing issues with Apple remotes

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Post tags: Apple, Macbook, Macbook Pro, OS X

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Here’s a head to head between the iPhone 4 vs iPhone 3GS.

Phone Model	iPhone 4	iPhone 3GS
Price (on contract)	$199 16GB, $299 32GB	$99 8GB
Processor	Apple A4	600MHz, Cortex-A8 architecture
Display	3.5-inch IPS 960 x 640	3.5-inch 480 x 320, no IPS
Primary camera	5 megapixel AF with flash	3 megapixel AF
Secondary camera	VGA	No
Video recording	720p at 30fps, optional iMovie	VGA at 30fps, basic editing capabilities built-in
Cellular	Quadband GSM, pentaband HSPA	Quadband GSM, triband HSPA
WiFi	802.11b/g/n	802.11b/g
Orientation sensing	Accelerometer, compass, gyroscope	Accelerometer, compass
FaceTime video calling	Yes	No
SIM standard	Micro SIM	SIM
Battery life	Up to 7 hours talk time on 3G, 14 hours on 2G Up to 10 hours data on WiFi Up to 40 hours audio Up to 10 hours video	Up to 5 hours talk time / data on 3G, 12 hours on 2G Up to 9 hours data on WiFi Up to 30 hours audio Up to 10 hours video
Weight	137 grams / 4.8 oz.	135 grams / 4.76 oz.
Dimensions	115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3mm	115.5 x 62.1 x 12.3mm

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Post tags: Apple, iPhone, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4

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