Will Russia be Getting the iPhone 5 in November?

MacRumors reports today on a story on Bloomberg from Russian business newspaper RBC Daily, which says that various carriers in Russia are currently in talks with Apple about launching the iPhone 5 in Russia, maybe even as early as November. The Russian paper says that this would be “almost immediately” after Apple launches the iPhone 5 in the US, which therefore pinpoints the US launch as possibly being towards the end of October. According to the report, earlier iPhone models have taken much longer to be officially launched in Russia, which has led to a big gray market developing. As MacRumors notes, this latest news also follows on from reports that China will also be getting the iPhone 5 sooner rather than later, and as they say, this marks a change from Apple, as previously countries with big populations such as China, India and Russia have had to wait much longer than other countries to get their hands on the newest incarnation of the iPhone.

AT&T Has Started Removing Unlimited Plans For Jailbroken Tethering

9to5 Mac reports today that it has heard from some of its readers that AT&T is going ahead with plans that it announced earlier in the year to remove unlimited data plans from those of its customers who use jailbroken iPhones to tether off the back of their unlimited data plan. According to one of their readers, he or she was told by AT&T that from Thursday, August 11, anyone using MyWi or any other tethering on their iPhone, or using the phone as a modem, will have their unlimited data plan switched to a 2GB tethering plan, at a cost of $45 per month. The customer will have no say in this matter, and it will be done automatically. 9to5 Mac says that they have also had this independently confirmed to them by an AT&T spokesperson, although not the August 11 date. Here’s the text of that confirmation from AT&T in full, which makes things pretty clear:

Earlier this year, we began sending letters, emails, and text messages to a small number of smartphone customers who use their devices for tethering but aren’t on our required tethering plan. Our goal here is fairness for all of our customers. (This impacts a only small percentage of our smartphone customer base.)
The letters outline three choices:
1) Stop tethering and keep their current plan (including grandfathered unlimited plan).
2) Proactively call AT&T or visit our stores and move to the required tethering plan.
3) Do nothing and we’ll go ahead and add the tethering plan on their behalf — after the dated noted in their customer notification.

Screenshot of New iOS 5 Speech-to-Text Facility in Action Surface

9to5 Mac reports today that it has been sent a screenshot from iOS 5’s forthcoming speech-to-text feature by what it refers to as “a reliable source”. The screenshot shows how the Nuance-powered speech-to-text function will be activated in iOS 5, and it appears to operate in a very similar way to the Android speech-recognition feature. Basically, you just touch the microphone icon to the left of the “space” bar, and talk away. As soon as you start talking, you’ll see another screen appear with a larger microphone icon, indicating that recording is taking place. When you stop talking, you’ll be returned to the original view, and the words that you have just spoken will then be shown in the text box. 9to5 Mac also reports that it has heard from its sources that the speech-to-text feature is only planned to be available for iPhone and iPod touch, and not for iPad, which seems a little strange, to say the least!

Google+ iPhone App Skyrockets to the Top of the Charts for Free iPhone Apps

Now, if this isn't an ironic, although unsurprising, twist, then the word needs to be redefined. In only one day's time, Google+ for the iPhone has blasted to the top of the Apple App Store's charts for most popular free app on the iPhone. And, this is just when Google+ is in free trial, and not an actual consumer product yet. In fact, industry analysts have suggested that Google+ has already grown to 18 Million users since its "debut" on June 28th. The only quibble that iPhone users might have with Google+ on their iPhones, is that it doesn't support automatic photo uploading, yet.

Regardless, this growth is phenomenal, and it would appear that Google may just have another massive hit on their hands.

Latest Data from comScore Indicates Google+ Hits 25 Million Users

According to the latest comScore report, Google+ has already reached 25 Million users in less than a month of operation. Of course, this is actually in contrast to Google's own figures of 10 Million registered users, although their report is from July 14th, and would have grown since then. The discrepancy probably arises from the fact that comScore regards "overall unique traffic to the site, including those visitors who look at public posts but don’t necessarily have their own accounts." Of further interest is how some of the individual numbers breakdown:

Google+ had more than 6 million visitors from the U.S., its biggest market, followed by India with more than 3 million visitors through July 24.

Also of note is that the industry analysis VP at comScore, Andrew Lipsman, indicated that the growth in Google+ is so rapid that it isn't as stable as Facebook.

He points to Facebook’s original path of more managed user acquisition, and suggests that the site saw “the most stable growth” out of the social networking services.

Regardless, these numbers seem both impressive, and typical of Google's successes. Although there are a few enterprises that have yet to take off for Google, most of their projects tend to explode with phenomenal growth. As good of a product as Google+ is, it seems likely that we will see it around and competitive for some time to come

Crux360 Turns Your iPad Into a Laptop

If you’re considering using your iPad to replace your laptop, than you would probably need something extra. Say, a physical keyboard could definitely be of help.
Crux 360 is an innovative hard shell keyboard case, designed to protect and to improve the utility of the iPad 2, helping your tablet do its best laptop impression. Inserting the iPad into the case is quite simple: you just place the iPad in and press the two parts until they click.

Crux360 can be used in different ways, depending on the user’s needs: a laptop mode, where both the iPad and the keypad make up a mini laptop; a movie mode, that allows landscape positioning for comfortable video watching; tablet mode, for general use of the iPad and carry mode, when the case is closed and your iPad’s is thus protected. The ‘360’ part in the name Crux360 actually comes from the ability of the hinge, that connects the screen and the keyboard, to rotate through a full 360°. The hinge allows the user to enjoy his iPad in all the four modes, without the need of extra props and it is said to last up to 10,000 open/close cycles.

The keyboard has a power-saving mode, that switches on automatically after two minutes of non-use and in order to bring it back to life a mere touch of any key is enough. The buttons on the keyboard are iPad specific keys, such as music-related buttons, language change or copy/paste buttons. Interesting fact, the keyboard has 2 Enter buttons: a big one, also labeled ‘Return’ and a smaller one alongside it, but no ‘Delete button’. If you want your iPad to be more like a laptop, Crux360 could do the work, almost justifying the $149 price tag.

SMEStorage now supports Office365 and Alfresco for iOS devices

SMEStorage today announced support for Office365, Alfresco and S3 compatible Clouds for iSMEStorage, the iPhone and iPad Cloud File Manager. iSMEStorage uniquely presents a local and Cloud File Manager for iOS devices enabling local files to be uploaded and managed as well as the ability manage aggregated Storage Clouds from a single file system. The new Clouds are available to all free, personal and business accounts and to existing iSMEStorage users.

London, United Kingdom - SMEStorage today is pleased to announce support for three new Storage Clouds fir iOS devices. These are Office365, the online Sharepoint SaaS offering, Alfresco enterprise content management system, and Amazon S3 compatible Clouds. SMEStorage CEO Ian Osborne stated,"We have added these three new Clouds specifically due to inbound business demand. In the case of Office365, this is to enable a well know blue chip company to add the Office365 to their SMEStorage Account so they can manage files from the iPad and other mobile devices we support." "The Alfresco Cloud was driven by demand from a particular reseller who wanted to bundle SMEStorage tools and clients to differentiate their offerings." "We've had a lot of demand for S3 compatible Clouds particularly driven by companies using such solutions as Eucalyptus Walrus, and we've found more companies embracing these or using hosted solutions that offer these. As this momentum has built it became an obvious choice to add to our supported Clouds."

Osborne continued, "as with all the information and Storage Clouds that are mapped to a user or companies account, these Clouds are manageable in a unique aggregated Cloud File System from Windows, Mac or Linux Operating Systems, and from iPhone/iPad, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone 7 mobile devices." Osborne finished by saying, "we're doing some exciting work with information clouds that are not just about traditional storage, and we continue to expand our footprint not just with small businesses but with larger corporates who have shown great interest in our on-premise Open Cloud Platform and Cloud File Server products."

The new Clouds are available to all free, personal and business accounts and to existing iSMEStorage users.

Device Requirements:
* iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad
* Requires iOS 4.1 or later
* 4.8 MB

Pricing and Availability:
iSMEStorage 2.11 is $4.99 USD (or equivalent amount in other currencies) and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Productivity category.

iOS Tutorial Video Offers New Guide to Making iPhone and iPad Apps

Toronto based Infinite Skills is now offering a 12.5 hour tutorial video course designed to make becoming an iOS Developer easier than it ever has been before. Presented by author Tony Bove, Learning To Build Apps for iPhone and iPad takes viewers through the standard app development cycle using the iOS SDK and Xcode all the way to submission to the App Store. The course focuses on two central app development projects - viewers can follow along and build the apps themselves, piece by piece. See the full press release below:

Toronto, Canada - Training provider Infinite Skills is now offering a tutorial video course designed to make becoming an iOS Developer easier than it ever has been before. Presented by author Tony Bove, Learning To Build Apps For iPhone and iPad takes viewers through the standard app development cycle using the iOS SDK and Xcode all the way to submission to the App Store.

"The iPad and iPhone have established themselves as the premier mobile platforms for the future," said Colin Boyd, sales director for Infinite Skills. "People want to create apps that are as elegant and useful as the devices themselves, and we're offering the basic building blocks needed to get started."

The course focuses on two central app development projects, so that the viewers can follow along and build the apps themselves, piece by piece. Throughout this hands-on process, author Tony Bove provides relevant technical information and key background details as they directly apply to the tasks being shown. Viewers learn about specific hardware features and limitations of both the iPhone and the iPad, with tips on how to make development decisions accordingly, and learn how to work with the iOS SDK, XCode and the App Store framework to build and release their application to a wide audience. Even basic programming concepts and techniques are included for viewers who have never created their own code.

The iOS App Development Tutorial Video series includes 105 separate lessons, with a total running length of 12.5 hours. In addition to covering the basic steps of creating an app for the iPhone and iPad, it also includes point-by-point tips for animating menus, incorporating iAd banners within an app, personalizing user controls through gestures, troubleshooting bugs and creating Universal apps that can be played across all iOS devices.

"While there are a standard set of options most users expect to find in an iPhone or iPad app, as a developer you'll also want to add your own personal touches," said Chris Johns, content specialist for Infinite Skills. "What's great about this tutorial is that Tony teaches you the skills to do both."

The author of more than a dozen books, Tony Bove has years of experience as a consultant and speaker throughout the technology industry. Bove uses his perspective to help viewers position iOS app creation within a greater context of usability and data accessibility, while maintaining a clear, jargon-free tone developed during years of writing beginner-friendly books

iPhone 5 already in Testing?

A story on The Guardian’s Technology Blog today says that boxed iPhone 5s are already with the carriers, who are currently testing them. According to The Guardian’s carrier sources, the iPhone 5 hardware has been sent in locked and sealed boxes to the carriers to enable them to test the new phone’s compatibility with their specific network. Apparently very few people are even allowed to open these hallowed locked boxes, so tight is the security surrounding them. Even when this magic box is opened, the outer design of the new iPhone will not be revealed, as the hardware is inserted in a dummy body completely different to what the eventual body will look like. The Guardian goes on to say that apparently the reason that the iPhone 4 antenna problems were not picked up prior to launch was because the phone had not been tested sufficiently in its final form and its actual real casing by people outside of Apple. The Guardian report’s author, Charles Arthur, also says that contrary to recent reports about an October release date for the iPhone 5, he still believes that it will be released in September, based on the information he has received from his carrier sources, and also on the fact that Apple appears to be readying iOS 5 for a September launch.

Almost Half Of Android And BlackBerry Users Plan Switching To iPhone

Almost half of all Android and BlackBerry owners would trade their smartphone for an iPhone, according to a recent Piper Jaffray survey.
The survey was carried out in Minneapolis, on a small number of 216 mobile users, but the results appear to be similar to those indicated by a recent ChangeWave survey. Out of the 216 respondents, 29% were iPhone users, 28% BlackBerry users, 17% of them own an Android-based device. 11% were Windows Phone 7 and Symbian users, while the rest of them were feature phone owners.

When asked what phone they consider buying next, less than half of Android users said they would stick to an Android device(47%), out of which, 42% said they would trade their Android for an iPhone. BlackBerry users seem to be even more unsatisfied, as only 26% plan to buy another RIM device, while 67% would go for an iPhone and only 3% plan to switch to Android. In terms of carrier, both AT&T and T-Mobile customers seem disappointed of their mobile operator. AT&T is the most popular carrier in this small survey, with 35% customers, but when asked what would their next carrier be, 40% of them would choose Verizon.

Finally, the respondents’ answers indicated that the non-smartphone market is about to shrink even more. 15% of the polled users are feature phones owners, but 9% of them said the next purchased phone would be a smartphone. 64% of them are planning to buy an iPhone, with 36% waiting for the upcoming iPhone 5, even if there are no secific details regarding Apple’s next-gen iPhone. Apple is currently world’s largest smartphone vendor in both revenue and volume and this survey pinpoints that it could stick to that first spot for a while.

Apple Looking To Merge Mac OS X And iOS In 2012

Apple could be merging its iOS and Mac OS X operating systems into one platform by 2012. The platform would be used for both applications and cloud service and it might start with MacBookAir. Peter Misek with Jefferies & Co wrote Wednesday in a note to investors “Users want to be able to pick up any iPhone,iPad or Mac (or turn on their iTV) and have content move seamlessly between them and be optimized for the user and the device currently being used. We believe this will be difficult to implement if iOS and OS X are kept separate."

This thoery could be applied in 2012, and the MacBook Air might be powered by A6 quad-app processor, thus becoming the very first computer to comprise multiple devices and to have the power of a PC. Users’ digital data could be stored in the cloud, which could be the center of Apple’s strategy, since the profile, content and apps would be cutomized according to the device users log on to. The purported merging could be useful not only to users, but also to developers, who will adress only one unified platform, instead of developing apps and contents for multiple devices and different operating systems.

The recently launched iCloud Beta shows this merger happening with platform syncing. However, the traditional Macbook Pro and Mac desktop could stick to the Mac OS X software and the Intel processor and probably by 2016 the merging would be complete for all Apple’s devices. "When 64-bit ARM is available in 2016, we believe Apple will have a single OS and hardware architecture," said Misek.

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Gets One-Click Root

The Asus Eee Pad Transformer just received an improved one-click Root, from some brilliant folks in the modding community. It's a little different than your standard one-click root, in that it uses Linux only, instead of Windows. Luckily, the developer of this "Mod" didn't want to leave non-Linux users out in the cold, so he created a Linux-based self installing CD-ROM ISO, that makes the process even easier! Here's a quote from the AndroidPolice article with another description,

Don't fret, though, Windows users, the dev behind this mod, rebound821, also developed an ingenious and simple way for you to use this tool with no previous Linux knowledge: a live CD. That's right, simply download and burn the ISO, boot into the disk, and when the desktop loads, hit "Universal Root for ASUS TF101." Bam. Root. Done.

Additionally, if you are a Linux user, it's even easier. To get more info and some download links hit the XDA source link below. One more thing to note... this root doesn't install ClockworkMod recovery, so you will need to get that separately.