Bed readers rejoice: iPad gains last-minute rotation lock
When Apple first introduced the iPad in late January, we noted with much disappointment that the device had no way to lock the screen orientation. This is apparently no longer the case, however—according to an updated iPad specs page, there is now a screen-rotation-lock switch on the right-hand side of the device, seemingly replacing the mute switch that was there when the media first played with it. In January, Ars confirmed the lack of a screen-lock option with an Apple representative at the iPad event. At that time, the Apple rep reminded us that individual apps give users the option to lock the screen into portrait or landscape mode (which is already the case on a number of third-party iPhone apps), but that the iPad itself had no universal control like on the Kindle or Nook. As a serial in-bed Kindle and iPhone user, this was disappointing to me and a number of other readers. There are few things on earth more annoying than trying to type on your iPhone at a strange angle and have the screen rotate four times before you're finished. Apple apparently heard our cries. 9 to 5 Mac first pointed out the difference in specs this morning, which is now reflected on the official iPad spec page. Yep, that sure does say "screen rotation lock," and that option was definitely not there when Ars played with the iPad on January 27. For those of you who forgot, today is iPad preorder day as well. You can now reserve one to be picked up in-store on April 3 (WiFi only) or you can preorder either the WiFi or 3G versions to be delivered to you. As usual, you can count on Ars to have a review up not long after the iPad launch! Read the comments on this post
published on Friday, the 12. March 2010, ars-technica
iPad trivia: screen lock switch, 3rd-party ePub support
Apple in its iPad pre-order update today has also revealed a pair of key new facts about the tablet. The company has notably changed the mute switch into a screen rotation lock toggle, addressing one of the most common pre-release complaints: readers can now read the iPad while in bed or otherwise on their sides while keeping the orientation frozen for an e-book or a website....
published on Friday, the 12. March 2010, macintosh-news-network
Apple turns iPad mute button into screen rotation lock
Apple revealed a minor tweak to the iPad hardware when preorders began Friday morning, with a button previously designated for audio muting changed to a "screen rotation lock."
published on Friday, the 12. March 2010, appleinsider
iPad's 'Mute' Switch Replaced With Screen Rotation Lock
9 to 5 Mac notes that Apple appears to have made a minor last-minute hardware change to the iPad, replacing what was previously described as a mute switch just above the volume rocker on the side of the device with a "screen rotation lock".
published on Friday, the 12. March 2010, macrumors
Apple files alt iPhone input, physical "key" login patents
Two recently published patent applications from Apple caught our attention for their craftiness. One shows how to use the iPhone's camera as an alternate gesture input method; the other details a system using a uniquely shaped signet to log in to a computer. The first patent, "Camera as Input Interface," adds alternate input methods for a touchscreen phone, particularly useful when the touchscreen is pressed against your face during a phone call. The patent describes a method using the built-in camera as a gesture detector, recognizing "swiping" up, down, left, or right using a finger. The gestures could be used to control voicemail, for instance, by swiping "forward" or "back" to skip to the next or previous message. The input could be augmented with accelerometer data to recognize a "tap" as well, according to the patent application. MacRumors notes that Apple has filed a number of alternate input methods for the iPhone, including a rear surface or an outer bezel that are also touch-sensitive. The second patent, "Shape Detecting Input Device," describes a system using a touchscreen to recognize uniquely shaped signets, and to perform actions associated with a specific shape. One application would be to log in a unique user based on the recognized shape. This is similar to the now-defunct practice of stamping a seal from a signet ring into sealing wax to verify a document's authenticity or source. If such a signet were indeed on a ring, it could also be used to unlock an iPhone. Apple's patent suggests that unique signet shapes could be embedded in a ring, a tag, a card, a stamp, or even a key. Other suggested actions initiated by the signet shape recognition include configuring a system to a unique user's needs, launching certain applications, or encrypting or decrypting messages or other content, making the signet like a modern, high-tech decoder ring.
published on Friday, the 26. February 2010, ars-technica
iPad simulator shows new wallpaper options
The new iPhone SDK beta, meant to support iPad development, has revealed another small but noticeable interface change. In the current iPad simulator, users can now set separate lock- and homescreen wallpapers, reflecting the iPad's ability to keep wallpaper active while navigating icons. In case the difference doesn't matter, another button applies the same wallpaper to both screens....
published on Wednesday, the 24. February 2010, macintosh-news-network
Apple blocks screenshots, axes sexual content from App Store (Updated)
Apple is stirring up yet another censorship brouhaha with its latest changes to App Store policy. The company recently began blocking screenshots for apps that are outside the acceptable age range in Parental Controls in iTunes. According to iPhone developer ChiliFresh, it seems that all "overtly sexual" apps might be expunged from the App Store too, which is making some users uneasy about Apple's "power" once again. Last month, we reported on a glitch in the App Store system that let any user browse apps and their sometimes NSFW screenshots in iTunes, even if Parental Controls indicated that the user was a small child. Shortly after the glitch was reported to Apple as a bug, developers were notified that all screenshots for the App Store had to be free of "objectionable material" and be acceptable for a 4+ rating. This, of course, was a good thing.
published on Friday, the 19. February 2010, ars-technica
iPhone hardware and OS beat Nexus One for 3D performance
The Google Nexus One originally wowed us with its 1GHz Snapdragon processor, handily beating the 600MHz ARM core that powers the iPhone 3GS on raw performance. However, it turns out that the iPhone's combination of PowerVR SGX GPU and support for ARM's Neon floating point optimizations still give it a significant edge over the Nexus One when it comes to 3D animation. Mobile developer Distinctive Games used a 3D game engine that taxes both the CPU and GPU to compare performance between an iPhone 3GS and a Nexus One. With a rendered background and two characters, iPhone clocks 60fps while the Nexus One manages just 30fps. The Nexus One has a much higher resolution than the iPhone—800 x 480 versus 480 x 320—so the Nexus One was limited to the lower resolution, resulting in an increase to 40fps. As the number of on-screen characters ramped up to eight, however, the iPhone managed a just-playable 29fps, while the Nexus One dropped down to 21fps. Distinctive tested the devices further and found that two things were limiting the frame rate. The GPU in the Nexus One appears to not be as robust as that in the iPhone for 3D performance, and the CPU is being limited because the Android NDK (native development kit—used for apps that need direct hardware access, like games) doesn't utilize ARM's Neon floating point optimizations. There is a workaround that allows taking advantage of the Neon instructions, but it involves recompiling the whole Android OS using GCC, and updating to a newer version of GCC for NDK compilation. iPhone developers already gain the benefits of these optimizations using the Xcode tool chain. Android uses a Java-based SDK and Google's own virtual machine for standard app development. The NDK, which enables native hardware development, is still relatively new. An expected hardware revision to the iPhone this summer—which may include a custom Apple-designed ARM-based processor—along with its more mature SDK, should keep the iPhone platform at the forefront of mobile gaming for some time to come.
published on Monday, the 15. February 2010, ars-technica
Netflix CEO: not streaming to the iPad "in the near term"
Apple CEO Steve Jobs called the iPad the "best device" for watching mobile video during its introduction on Wednesday. While the iTunes Store's movie and TV offerings cover a lot of ground, services like Netflix's subscription-based streaming are among the many options that aren't yet available on the iPad. According to the company's CEO, you shouldn't expect Netflix to offer streaming to any of Apple's portable devices any time soon, either. During the company's quarterly financial conference call Wednesday, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said that the company isn't currently working on an app to give access to its huge library of "Watch Instantly" content to the iPad or any other Apple mobile device. "It's not a huge priority for us because we're so focused on the larger screens," Hastings said. "Until we get our TV ubiquity and our Blu-ray ubiquity and we're getting close on video game ubiquity, then we would next turn to the small screen. So it's something we will get around to, but it's not in the near term." It should be noted that Netflix uses Microsoft's IIS Media Services to serve up streaming content over the Web to Macs and PCs. While viewing that content requires the Silverlight plugin on the desktop, Microsoft recently enabled IIS7 to transcode to an iPhone-compatible stream on-demand for content requests from Mobile Safari. The same trick would also work with the iPad, enabling Netflix to stream video to an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch without creating a native iPhone OS app. It would also avoid a potential conflict should Apple move to block such an app from being approved for the App Store.
published on Thursday, the 28. January 2010, ars-technica