Thursday, June 18, 2009
iPhone 3.0 Update: 10 Hidden Features
It has been a crazy night trying to download the latest iPhone update, with many reporting that they are unable to access Apple's servers due to unusually high traffic. But Apple's servers are now up to scratch and everybody should have the 3.0 software update installed on their iPhone and iPod Touch.
If you haven't had a proper run-down through all the new features in the iPhone 3.0 software update, our colleagues from Macworld have a comprehensive hands-on review. But now that many had the chance to play around with the new iPhone OS, plenty of undocumented features and nifty updates are starting to show up.
I have complied for you this list of the top 10 hidden gems within the iPhone 3.0 update, which are some of the most important undocumented features so far. If you find any more, make sure you leave them in the comments, so that everyone gets to try them.
Adjustable Song Scrolling Speed
Previously, while listening to a song, you had a simple dot on the song bar to rewind or fast forward. But now in the 3.0 update, you can scroll through songs at various speeds. Put your finger on the scrolling point and it will start glowing. Now, if you drag your finger left or right, you will scroll through the song at "high speed", and if you do this movement while dragging your finger down the screen, the speed decreases to "half speed", "quarter speed" or "fine scrubbing".
Special Characters In Messaging
The 3.0 keyboard has a few extra special characters when holding certain signs down. For example, when you hold down the ".", you also get "...", the dash "-" also displays an em-dash "-" and quotations and apostrophes display "<<" and ">>" and can also be curved. Another quick tip is to hold and press on the numeric button while in letters mode and slide your finger to the desired punctuation sign. Then, the letter keyboard will come back automatically.
Read the rest...
If you haven't had a proper run-down through all the new features in the iPhone 3.0 software update, our colleagues from Macworld have a comprehensive hands-on review. But now that many had the chance to play around with the new iPhone OS, plenty of undocumented features and nifty updates are starting to show up.
I have complied for you this list of the top 10 hidden gems within the iPhone 3.0 update, which are some of the most important undocumented features so far. If you find any more, make sure you leave them in the comments, so that everyone gets to try them.
Adjustable Song Scrolling Speed
Previously, while listening to a song, you had a simple dot on the song bar to rewind or fast forward. But now in the 3.0 update, you can scroll through songs at various speeds. Put your finger on the scrolling point and it will start glowing. Now, if you drag your finger left or right, you will scroll through the song at "high speed", and if you do this movement while dragging your finger down the screen, the speed decreases to "half speed", "quarter speed" or "fine scrubbing".
Special Characters In Messaging
The 3.0 keyboard has a few extra special characters when holding certain signs down. For example, when you hold down the ".", you also get "...", the dash "-" also displays an em-dash "-" and quotations and apostrophes display "<<" and ">>" and can also be curved. Another quick tip is to hold and press on the numeric button while in letters mode and slide your finger to the desired punctuation sign. Then, the letter keyboard will come back automatically.
Read the rest...
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
What’s up with the iPhone 4G?
While myriads of business users breathlessly await the release of iPhone OS 3.0, leaks have begun to surface indicating that Apple may be busily working on releasing the next generation iPhone. For purposes of this column we’ll call it iPhone 4G—although it may or may not work on 4G networks and that may or may not be the real name of this next gen device.
Since rumors are so near and dear to my heart, as evidenced by my recent missive on the Palm Pre, let’s see what rumors are circulating around this newest iPhone.
According to rumor central, an anonymous poster on a Chinese website has published what claims to be the specs for Apple's next iPhone. If these rumors become fact, iPhone users who upgrade will enjoy the following new features:
Monday, June 1, 2009
In preparation for iPhone 3.0, Apple posts iTunes 8.2
Apple on Monday released iTunes 8.2, an update to its music jukebox software and online store interface for the Mac and Windows. It’s available for download through the Software Update system preference.
Apple notes that iTunes 8.2 now supports iPhones and iPod touches equipped with the iPhone 3.0 software update. Other accessibility improvements and bug fixes have also been made.
Apple also improved security in iTunes 8.2. According to a notice, Apple has improved bounds checking in 8.2 to prevent a stack buffer overflow problem that could lead to unexpected app termination or arbitrary code execution.
Read the rest of this article.
Apple notes that iTunes 8.2 now supports iPhones and iPod touches equipped with the iPhone 3.0 software update. Other accessibility improvements and bug fixes have also been made.
Apple also improved security in iTunes 8.2. According to a notice, Apple has improved bounds checking in 8.2 to prevent a stack buffer overflow problem that could lead to unexpected app termination or arbitrary code execution.
Read the rest of this article.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Palm, Apple set to do battle with smart phones
Two years ago, when Apple launched the iPhone to huge acclaim, Palm was caught flat-footed. The Sunnyvale pioneer in the PDA and smart phone market had no formidable response.
Now Palm is trying to make up for lost time with the Palm Pre, a $200 touch-screen smart phone with a sliding keyboard that many observers are touting as the first device able to go mano a mano with the iPhone 3G. Palm decided to embrace the challenge by scheduling the Pre's release on June 6, just two days before the start of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, where Apple is expected to unveil the next generation of the iPhone.
The timing sets the stage for a potentially epic battle of Silicon Valley innovators in a contest that could vault Palm back into the fast-growing smart phone market - or spell its demise.
"This is a must-win for Palm. If the Pre isn't successful for them, they have no second chance," said analyst Jack Gold of J. Gold Associates. "It's the fourth quarter, and they're down by a lot of points."
The good news is that early reviews of the Pre and its new WebOS operating system, several years in the making, are favorable. Observers have been taken with the Palm's iPhone-like interface, its multi-touch browser and its specifications, which match up almost identically with the iPhone's.
But they also give kudos to WebOS' ability to multitask and integrate Web information from various sources, allowing users to combine contacts, calendars and messages. In those respects, the Palm Pre has taken the best of its competitors and surged ahead, said J. Gerry Purdy, chief analyst for mobile and wireless at Frost & Sullivan.
"They've leapfrogged the competition," he said. "If they can get a lot of people and developers to agree and buy it and develop for it, they can be a viable competitor."
The stakes are high for Palm, which has endured seven straight quarters of losses and posted a 72 percent decline in revenue for the first quarter of this year. Investors, however, appear confident in the Pre. Palm's stock price, which dipped to $1.42 per share in December, is above $10 now.
Palm has a lot of catching up to do. The company sold just 482,000 devices in the first quarter, compared with 3.8 million iPhones by Apple and 7.8 million BlackBerrys by Research in Motion.
The Pre has other challenges to overcome. A survey by Changewave in March found that of respondents who planned to buy a smart phone in the near future, only 4 percent planned to buy the Pre, while 37 percent said they would buy a BlackBerry and 30 percent said they would purchase an iPhone. Palm is selling the Pre exclusively with Sprint, the third-place carrier that is trying to overcome negative perceptions about its customer service and network reliability.
A lot to prove
Sprint's Kevin Packingham, senior vice president for product and technology development, said Palm and Sprint have a lot to prove with the Pre. But he said both have expanded their offerings in the last two years and expect the Pre to demonstrate their turnarounds.
"This phone tests the mettle of the manufacturer and wireless provider. You have to have a high level of confidence to go big for a device like this," he said.
"For Web-centric users who use social networks and want to manage multiple sign-ons and multitask, there is no better device on the market than the Palm Pre," Packingham added.
It's words like these that suggest a collision course with the iPhone, the king of the touch-screen smart phone world. Apple's supremacy won't be threatened immediately, but the Pre ups the ante in ways that other devices haven't been able to do.
"In terms of overall software and quality of experience and all of the pretty interesting things around synergy and connections to the Web, those are very attractive features that the Pre is bringing to market," said Charles Golvin of Forrester Research. "From what I've seen, this looks like the closest competitor to the iPhone."
Apple isn't sitting still. The iPhone 3.0 operating system upgrade will address some of the things the Pre boasted of at its unveiling in January. Features like cut and paste, multimedia messaging and push notification were added to iPhone 3.0, which will be released this summer.
Apple is rumored to be preparing one or more new iPhone models to be unveiled at the Worldwide Developers Conference, with more hardware features and perhaps more prices.
Already well positioned
Natalie Kerris, a spokeswoman for Apple, declined to comment on any planned changes to iPhone hardware but said the company is already well positioned.
"We've sold more than 21 million iPhones since launch, with sales doubling in our last quarter," she said. "We're looking forward to introducing a major new software update this summer, iPhone OS 3.0, with more than 100 new features."
One big advantage for Apple is the iPhone's App Store, a marketplace of more than 35,000 applications that has expanded the utility and appeal of the iPhone. Palm will offer its App Catalog but will need to convince developers and Palm OS programmers to build for its new WebOS platform, a major task because the iPhone has the momentum.
In an effort to make it easier for developers to write for the operating system, Palm has used popular Web languages CSS, HTML and XML that are familiar to Web programmers. The company has said that an emulator program will be available for the Pre that will allow users to run old Palm software from other devices.
Tom Conrad, chief technology officer for Internet radio provider Pandora, which is building an app for the Pre, said Palm has done its homework, from the development tools to the hardware and software.
"To me the Pre is the first post-iPhone example that gets the formula right," he said. "The hardware is extremely compelling and feels great. And it also has a really great operating system with a fantastic user experience."
Palm Pre (on sale June 6)
Size: 3.9 by 2.3 by 0.67 inches
Weight: 4.76 ounces
Screen: 3.1-inch 480 by 320 with multi-touch
Connectivity: 3G EVDO-Rev A (Sprint), Wi-Fi, stereo Bluetooth
Other: Webkit browser, slide out QWERTY keyboard, 2.0 mp camera, GPS, accelerometer, application store
Price: $199.99 with two-year contract and after $100 rebate
Features: Multitasking, integration of e-mail and social networking accounts, combined calendar and messaging, universal search
Apple iPhone 3G*
(due out this summer)
Size: 4.5 by 2.4 by 0.48 inches
Weight: 4.7 ounces
Screen: 3.5-inch 480 by 320 with multi-touch
Connectivity: 3G HSDPA (AT&T), Wi-Fi, stereo Bluetooth
Other: Webkit browser, virtual keyboard, 3.0 mp camera with LED flash, GPS, accelerometer, application store
Price: $199 (8 GB) and $299 (16 GB) with two-year contract
Features: Push notification, peer-to-peer connectivity, "in app" purchases, universal search
*With iPhone 3.0 operating system. Also, it is rumored that a new iPhone will be announced at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference June 8-12.
Now Palm is trying to make up for lost time with the Palm Pre, a $200 touch-screen smart phone with a sliding keyboard that many observers are touting as the first device able to go mano a mano with the iPhone 3G. Palm decided to embrace the challenge by scheduling the Pre's release on June 6, just two days before the start of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, where Apple is expected to unveil the next generation of the iPhone.
The timing sets the stage for a potentially epic battle of Silicon Valley innovators in a contest that could vault Palm back into the fast-growing smart phone market - or spell its demise.
"This is a must-win for Palm. If the Pre isn't successful for them, they have no second chance," said analyst Jack Gold of J. Gold Associates. "It's the fourth quarter, and they're down by a lot of points."
The good news is that early reviews of the Pre and its new WebOS operating system, several years in the making, are favorable. Observers have been taken with the Palm's iPhone-like interface, its multi-touch browser and its specifications, which match up almost identically with the iPhone's.
But they also give kudos to WebOS' ability to multitask and integrate Web information from various sources, allowing users to combine contacts, calendars and messages. In those respects, the Palm Pre has taken the best of its competitors and surged ahead, said J. Gerry Purdy, chief analyst for mobile and wireless at Frost & Sullivan.
"They've leapfrogged the competition," he said. "If they can get a lot of people and developers to agree and buy it and develop for it, they can be a viable competitor."
The stakes are high for Palm, which has endured seven straight quarters of losses and posted a 72 percent decline in revenue for the first quarter of this year. Investors, however, appear confident in the Pre. Palm's stock price, which dipped to $1.42 per share in December, is above $10 now.
Palm has a lot of catching up to do. The company sold just 482,000 devices in the first quarter, compared with 3.8 million iPhones by Apple and 7.8 million BlackBerrys by Research in Motion.
The Pre has other challenges to overcome. A survey by Changewave in March found that of respondents who planned to buy a smart phone in the near future, only 4 percent planned to buy the Pre, while 37 percent said they would buy a BlackBerry and 30 percent said they would purchase an iPhone. Palm is selling the Pre exclusively with Sprint, the third-place carrier that is trying to overcome negative perceptions about its customer service and network reliability.
A lot to prove
Sprint's Kevin Packingham, senior vice president for product and technology development, said Palm and Sprint have a lot to prove with the Pre. But he said both have expanded their offerings in the last two years and expect the Pre to demonstrate their turnarounds.
"This phone tests the mettle of the manufacturer and wireless provider. You have to have a high level of confidence to go big for a device like this," he said.
"For Web-centric users who use social networks and want to manage multiple sign-ons and multitask, there is no better device on the market than the Palm Pre," Packingham added.
It's words like these that suggest a collision course with the iPhone, the king of the touch-screen smart phone world. Apple's supremacy won't be threatened immediately, but the Pre ups the ante in ways that other devices haven't been able to do.
"In terms of overall software and quality of experience and all of the pretty interesting things around synergy and connections to the Web, those are very attractive features that the Pre is bringing to market," said Charles Golvin of Forrester Research. "From what I've seen, this looks like the closest competitor to the iPhone."
Apple isn't sitting still. The iPhone 3.0 operating system upgrade will address some of the things the Pre boasted of at its unveiling in January. Features like cut and paste, multimedia messaging and push notification were added to iPhone 3.0, which will be released this summer.
Apple is rumored to be preparing one or more new iPhone models to be unveiled at the Worldwide Developers Conference, with more hardware features and perhaps more prices.
Already well positioned
Natalie Kerris, a spokeswoman for Apple, declined to comment on any planned changes to iPhone hardware but said the company is already well positioned.
"We've sold more than 21 million iPhones since launch, with sales doubling in our last quarter," she said. "We're looking forward to introducing a major new software update this summer, iPhone OS 3.0, with more than 100 new features."
One big advantage for Apple is the iPhone's App Store, a marketplace of more than 35,000 applications that has expanded the utility and appeal of the iPhone. Palm will offer its App Catalog but will need to convince developers and Palm OS programmers to build for its new WebOS platform, a major task because the iPhone has the momentum.
In an effort to make it easier for developers to write for the operating system, Palm has used popular Web languages CSS, HTML and XML that are familiar to Web programmers. The company has said that an emulator program will be available for the Pre that will allow users to run old Palm software from other devices.
Tom Conrad, chief technology officer for Internet radio provider Pandora, which is building an app for the Pre, said Palm has done its homework, from the development tools to the hardware and software.
"To me the Pre is the first post-iPhone example that gets the formula right," he said. "The hardware is extremely compelling and feels great. And it also has a really great operating system with a fantastic user experience."
Palm Pre (on sale June 6)
Size: 3.9 by 2.3 by 0.67 inches
Weight: 4.76 ounces
Screen: 3.1-inch 480 by 320 with multi-touch
Connectivity: 3G EVDO-Rev A (Sprint), Wi-Fi, stereo Bluetooth
Other: Webkit browser, slide out QWERTY keyboard, 2.0 mp camera, GPS, accelerometer, application store
Price: $199.99 with two-year contract and after $100 rebate
Features: Multitasking, integration of e-mail and social networking accounts, combined calendar and messaging, universal search
Apple iPhone 3G*
(due out this summer)
Size: 4.5 by 2.4 by 0.48 inches
Weight: 4.7 ounces
Screen: 3.5-inch 480 by 320 with multi-touch
Connectivity: 3G HSDPA (AT&T), Wi-Fi, stereo Bluetooth
Other: Webkit browser, virtual keyboard, 3.0 mp camera with LED flash, GPS, accelerometer, application store
Price: $199 (8 GB) and $299 (16 GB) with two-year contract
Features: Push notification, peer-to-peer connectivity, "in app" purchases, universal search
*With iPhone 3.0 operating system. Also, it is rumored that a new iPhone will be announced at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference June 8-12.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Direct Movie and TV Downloads Coming to iPhone?
More supposed details are leaking out about the next version of Apple’s 3.0 software update for the iPhone and iPod Touch set to be unveiled next month. The latest buzz, via the site Open Salon, is over direct downloads of TV shows and movies. The ability to directly download TV and movies to the iPhone and iPod Touch would eliminate the steps of plugging your device into your computer, launching iTunes, and performing a synchronization between the two.

Supposed screenshot evidence of the direct downloads come from a blogger that goes by the pseudonym “geeky friend” who claims to have seen ads for “iTunes Movies,” “iTunes TV,” and “iTunes Movie Rentals” on a new version of TwitterFon, a Twitter App for iPhone.
The screenshots show TV shows and movies separated by category.
A request for comment from Apple wasn’t returned.
The convenience of directly downloading videos onto an iPhone over would be a welcomed addition. Currently video downloads on the device are limited to audio and video podcasts.
Adding video downloads seems like a logical addition to future software updates, especially if it is limited to WiFi connections.

Supposed screenshot evidence of the direct downloads come from a blogger that goes by the pseudonym “geeky friend” who claims to have seen ads for “iTunes Movies,” “iTunes TV,” and “iTunes Movie Rentals” on a new version of TwitterFon, a Twitter App for iPhone.
The screenshots show TV shows and movies separated by category.
A request for comment from Apple wasn’t returned.
The convenience of directly downloading videos onto an iPhone over would be a welcomed addition. Currently video downloads on the device are limited to audio and video podcasts.
Adding video downloads seems like a logical addition to future software updates, especially if it is limited to WiFi connections.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Papers for iPhone
Desktop scholarship managers gets a portable companion.
Managing a huge collection of research papers has been the bane of scholars, no doubt since the beginning of written scholarship itself. In my particular case, mismanagement led to file cabinets stuffed with misfiled, crumpled, duplicate, and sometimes incomplete unreadable copies. Good luck finding papers or searching through the ones you may have forgotten about.
The arrival of the PDF file, optical character recognition, and published online journals has presented a slightly different set of searching and sorting problems. Still, the organization problem remains. The desktop version of Mekentosj’s Papers () brings the ability to manage journal articles, search your library and search the most common online repositories into a single desktop program. Now, Mekentosj brings this capability to the iPhone for on-the-go scholarship.

Sync Sensation: You can sync up to 1,000 papers from the desktop with Papers, much in the same way you sync photos and iTunes playlists between your desktop and mobile device.
Papers for iPhone tries to replicate much of the functionality of its desktop cousin and provides tools for reading and searching for scholarly articles. On the management and reading side, Papers for iPhone allows for synchronization of up to 1,000 papers from the desktop via a wireless connection. Files are specified by folder, in a way similar to the synchronization of iPhoto image collections and iTunes playlists.
If you’re not using your quota of 1,000 there is the ability to synchronize random files based on a given criteria. You can also constrain the direction of the synchronization—files can be synchronized only from the desktop to the iPhone or can be synchronized bidirectionally, allowing any new papers acquired on the iPhone to be copied back to the desktop library. I’ve not found the auto-fill capability particularly useful but I suppose there are folks who occasionally need a random read.
The second major piece of the app’s functionality is its ability to search online databases. Version 1.1 provides access to the ACM, ADS, arXiv, Google Scholar, IEEE Xplore, JSTOR, PubMed, and Web of Science databases. These are largely science-centric databases with JSTOR being the most broad. Interfacing with the wide variety of search engines is a bit challenging, as is evidenced by the fact that Google Scholar searches were broken in Papers’ initial release as a result of changes made by Google. The desktop version of Papers allows the various search components to be updated ‘live’ and Mekentosj has been quick to update when search providers change their products. Due to the constraints of the iTunes App Store, Papers for iPhone won’t be nearly as nimble when new updates are necessary since each update has to be cleared through Apple’s vetting process.
Switching between search engines on the mobile version of Papers is a little confusing, as there’s no obvious way to switch once you have started a search. You must click in the search box, as if to enter new search terms, and the list of search engines appears. I also experienced significant difficulty with the app’s proxy capability (e.g. the ability to access the search engines as though you’re on your institution’s network even when you’re not). Sometimes I was able to get connected and authenticated but, even when authentication was successful, downloading PDFs was a mixed bag—sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. Some of this is likely due to idiosyncrasies of some sites (I had the most trouble trying to get papers via ScienceDirect) and their interaction with the iPhone’s WebKit implementation. Still, if Papers for the iPhone is going to be truly useful, this needs to be worked out.
I found the app’s preferences slightly annoying in that they live in two locations, neither entirely intuitive. Some settings are in the “Help Center” while others are buried in the search engine panel. However, on the iPhone, preferences are a bit messy across the board—some live in Settings, while others are located in specific apps. Papers adds yet another confusing paradigm.
If you need access to scholarly research on-the-go, then Papers is certainly the go-to application on the iPhone and iPod touch. Unfortunately, this early release is reminiscent of the initial release desktop cousin—a great start that falls flat in a few areas. If the trajectory of updates are similar, I’d expect to see a more solid, usable application very soon.
Papers is compatible with any iPhone or iPod touch running the iPhone 2.x software update.
Managing a huge collection of research papers has been the bane of scholars, no doubt since the beginning of written scholarship itself. In my particular case, mismanagement led to file cabinets stuffed with misfiled, crumpled, duplicate, and sometimes incomplete unreadable copies. Good luck finding papers or searching through the ones you may have forgotten about.
The arrival of the PDF file, optical character recognition, and published online journals has presented a slightly different set of searching and sorting problems. Still, the organization problem remains. The desktop version of Mekentosj’s Papers () brings the ability to manage journal articles, search your library and search the most common online repositories into a single desktop program. Now, Mekentosj brings this capability to the iPhone for on-the-go scholarship.

Sync Sensation: You can sync up to 1,000 papers from the desktop with Papers, much in the same way you sync photos and iTunes playlists between your desktop and mobile device.
Papers for iPhone tries to replicate much of the functionality of its desktop cousin and provides tools for reading and searching for scholarly articles. On the management and reading side, Papers for iPhone allows for synchronization of up to 1,000 papers from the desktop via a wireless connection. Files are specified by folder, in a way similar to the synchronization of iPhoto image collections and iTunes playlists.
If you’re not using your quota of 1,000 there is the ability to synchronize random files based on a given criteria. You can also constrain the direction of the synchronization—files can be synchronized only from the desktop to the iPhone or can be synchronized bidirectionally, allowing any new papers acquired on the iPhone to be copied back to the desktop library. I’ve not found the auto-fill capability particularly useful but I suppose there are folks who occasionally need a random read.
The second major piece of the app’s functionality is its ability to search online databases. Version 1.1 provides access to the ACM, ADS, arXiv, Google Scholar, IEEE Xplore, JSTOR, PubMed, and Web of Science databases. These are largely science-centric databases with JSTOR being the most broad. Interfacing with the wide variety of search engines is a bit challenging, as is evidenced by the fact that Google Scholar searches were broken in Papers’ initial release as a result of changes made by Google. The desktop version of Papers allows the various search components to be updated ‘live’ and Mekentosj has been quick to update when search providers change their products. Due to the constraints of the iTunes App Store, Papers for iPhone won’t be nearly as nimble when new updates are necessary since each update has to be cleared through Apple’s vetting process.
Switching between search engines on the mobile version of Papers is a little confusing, as there’s no obvious way to switch once you have started a search. You must click in the search box, as if to enter new search terms, and the list of search engines appears. I also experienced significant difficulty with the app’s proxy capability (e.g. the ability to access the search engines as though you’re on your institution’s network even when you’re not). Sometimes I was able to get connected and authenticated but, even when authentication was successful, downloading PDFs was a mixed bag—sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. Some of this is likely due to idiosyncrasies of some sites (I had the most trouble trying to get papers via ScienceDirect) and their interaction with the iPhone’s WebKit implementation. Still, if Papers for the iPhone is going to be truly useful, this needs to be worked out.
I found the app’s preferences slightly annoying in that they live in two locations, neither entirely intuitive. Some settings are in the “Help Center” while others are buried in the search engine panel. However, on the iPhone, preferences are a bit messy across the board—some live in Settings, while others are located in specific apps. Papers adds yet another confusing paradigm.
If you need access to scholarly research on-the-go, then Papers is certainly the go-to application on the iPhone and iPod touch. Unfortunately, this early release is reminiscent of the initial release desktop cousin—a great start that falls flat in a few areas. If the trajectory of updates are similar, I’d expect to see a more solid, usable application very soon.
Papers is compatible with any iPhone or iPod touch running the iPhone 2.x software update.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Apple warn iPod & iPhone users about static shocks
Apple is advising iPod and iPhone owners to choose natural fibers rather than synthetic materials, install an air humidifier, and avoid touching their PMP, in the hope that it will prevent static electricity shocks. The advice, part of a warning added to the company’s support site this week, blames “extremely dry air” for most static build-up, and denies any particular susceptibility of iPods and iPhones to the condition.
The static electricity build-up can be caused by low-humidity environments, using an iPod in a very windy environment, and repeated removal and replacement of an iPod into a bag or pocket. Apple also suggest that jogging or exercising can trigger static, as can wearing materials such as nylon.
However, the company is clear that “receiving a static shock from a pair of earbuds does not necessarily indicate an issue with the iPod, iPhone, or earbuds” and that any gadget can prove susceptible. How long before we see third-party manufacturers bringing out anti-static hand lotion?
The static electricity build-up can be caused by low-humidity environments, using an iPod in a very windy environment, and repeated removal and replacement of an iPod into a bag or pocket. Apple also suggest that jogging or exercising can trigger static, as can wearing materials such as nylon.
However, the company is clear that “receiving a static shock from a pair of earbuds does not necessarily indicate an issue with the iPod, iPhone, or earbuds” and that any gadget can prove susceptible. How long before we see third-party manufacturers bringing out anti-static hand lotion?
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