Apple has just updated their Mobile iDisk app not only to add iOS 4 multitasking but also making it a universal app to support both iPhone and iPad. Here are the details on version 2.1:

• Designed for both iPhone and iPad
• Multitasking support for iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS (iOS 4 required).
• Quickly switch to another app and back to iDisk
• Play audio from your iDisk while using another app
• When app is opened, the last file or directory viewed is displayed
• Option to open iDisk documents in compatible apps such as iBooks
• When sharing a file, an email can be sent from any configured email account
• The URL for a shared file can be copied and pasted
• Various stability improvements

Nice to see Apple start rolling these out. Now where’s our Apple Remote for iPad?

[iTunes link. Thanks Chad!]

Apple updates MobileMe iDisk: Universal for iPad/iPhone, multitasking for iOS 4 is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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We’ve had a few TiPb readers ping us to ask what’s going on with timeline-based apps like Twitter, IM, RSS, etc under iOS 4 multitasking — specifically why they aren’t updated or updating any more when they open. The answer is the current timeline update conundrum.

First, it’s important to remember that Apple didn’t include background timeline updates in their multitasking API. Apps can stream music, they can wait for VoIP activity, and they can handle location for navigation or check-in, but they can’t update your Twitter, IM, or RSS the way Apple’s own Mail app can. Apple’s SVP of iPhone Software, Scott Forstall said they prefer iOS handle that via push notification instead.

Push notification is fine for alerting you that a new update (tweet, IM, article, etc.) has come in, but when you launch the app — because of the lack of background timeline updates — the app has to then check back with the server and download every update since the last time it ran.

Under iPhone 3.0, this was handled by most apps when you launched them (some more quickly than others). Under iOS 4, however, apps now save state and restart from where you last left them. And therein lies the problem — many apps aren’t checking for updates because they haven’t been relaunched, they’ve just been continued from their last saved state.

No relaunch, no check for updates.

UPDATE: per comments below, tweets, and emails, developers are telling us that apps can, in fact, be coded to check for updates when they return to the foreground and that it’s not overly difficult to implement (and some apps are indeed implementing it).

If that’s indeed the case, the question becomes: why is the only solution in many of our favorite timeline apps still a manual refresh? (i.e. trigger the reload action by tapping a button or other gesture, sometimes backing out a screen or two to get to a place you can do it — which defeats some of the benefit of saved state.)

Do we need to start a “naughty and nice” list for this functionality?

iOS 4 limitations: Multitasking saves state, doesn’t check for timeline updates is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Apple has responded to that bizarre incident over the weekend involving a glut of Vietnamese, copyright-infringing book apps rocking to best-seller status on the backs of hacked iTunes accounts.

The developer Thuat Nguyen and his apps were removed from the App Store for violating the developer Program License Agreement, including fraudulent purchase patterns.

Developers do not receive any iTunes confidential customer data when an app is downloaded.

If your credit card or iTunes password is stolen and used on iTunes we recommend that you contact your financial institution and inquire about canceling the card and issuing a chargeback for any unauthorized transactions. We also recommend that you change your iTunes account password immediately. For more information on best practices for password security visit http://www.apple.com/support/itunes.

Good advice for this incident, great advice in general. Also remember to never, not ever, click a link in an email and log into an account. That’s how social engineering attacks like Phishing scams work. Use a strong password (long, with numbers and symbols), keep it unique, and change it once and a while. Treat it as securely as you treat your credit card and cash — because that’s what it is.

[Engadget]

Apple comments on iTunes fraud – dev banned, change your password is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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The TiPb forums are naturally a great place to talk, commiserate, celebrate, get help, and offer advice to your fellow iPhone users. In order to create a new thread of your own or reply to any of the existing threads, you must be a registered member. Becoming a member is easy and free so if you haven't already head on over and register now!

• Still waiting for that iPhone 4 you ordered a while back? This is the perfect place to talk about it: iPhone 4 July 14th Ship Date.

• Besides the antenna issue not many of you have had any major gripes regarding iPhone 4’s hardware. That being said, is anyone else having issues with the home button?

• iAds are slowing but surely turning up now, how have these adds effected your user experience if any at all? Good? Bad?

• So many of you are still interested in jailbreaking so why not stop TiPb’s Jailbreak and Unlock forum? Whether you have questions you need answers to or you simply want to help others out, that is the forum for you.

• When you want to talk about any of the thousands of iOS applications this is the place to do it in: Apps and Games.

See you in the forums!

iPhone 4 shipping, faulty home buttons, iAds, Jailbreak, iOS apps – From the Forums is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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It appears as though AT&T has put a cap on iPhone 4 3G upload data speed in certain regions. Members of MacRumors forums are reporting that the cap seems to be at 100 kbps and the areas that are affected are:

NYC, Central Jersey, Boston, Orlando, Seattle, South Jersey/Philly, Columbus, Cleveland, West Houston, Phoenix, Northern Colorado, St. Paul/Minesota, Suffolk County/Long Island, Quad Cities, South Jersey, Denver, Detroit Metro, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Kansas City, Fairfax, Minneapolis

A possible explanation could be maintenance work related to HSUPA (high speed uplink), the network protocol that will bring us faster upload speeds to devices that support it, like iPhone 4. We hope to hear an official statement from AT&T soon.

I did a quick test in Denver while connected to my AT&T Microcell and got a whopping 47 kbps upload speed. Meanwhile, Jeremy is experiencing no problems in HSPA-drenched Chicago. What about you? What 3G upload speeds are you getting and where are you located?

[Gizmodo, Macrumors forums]

AT&T capping iPhone 4 data upload speeds? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Droid X review

Come next week Verizon users still waiting for a mythical iPhone 4 all their own will get Motorola’s latest, greatest new Android offering — the Droid X — to hold them over. And Verizon users with no interest in anything Apple will have the new king of Google’s ever growing hill to play with.

The original Motorola Droid on Verizon was arguably the first smartphone to really give the iPhone 3GS a run for it’s money. However, it came out months after the iPhone 3GS when hype had abated somewhat, and it’s Droid Does list included things like multitasking, which iOS 4 now Does Too. That means while Droid X is a better, badder phone, it has a tougher challenge ahead of it as well.

If size matters, the Droid X is bigger… 4.3″ of screen but with less pixels, at a lower density, and without iPhone 4’s IPS Retina Display panel.

It’s got a bigger 8 megapixel camera on the back to iPhone 4’s 5 megapixels. But iPhone 4 has a back-illuminated sensor that isn’t as chopped up, which should mean better low-light pictures, and iOS 4 camera software while less feature-filled still seems to produce better images with just a touch of the tap-to-focus-and-balance. iPhone 4 also has a front-facing camera (and FaceTime), Droid X don’t.

3 external mics on the Droid X, including one for video camera work trump iPhone 4’s two mics. iPhone 4 does have a gyroscope, though. And yeah, Droid X has got dual antenna. Ouch. Otherwise they’re both monsters on the spec sheet.

In terms of apps Apple’s App Store still wins on sheer number, though Google’s Android Market retains bragging rights on being more open.

Droid X is only running Android 2.1 Eclair right now, though a turbo-boosting 2.2 Froyo update is on the horizon. So, a lot may come down to whether you like Droid X’s “don’t call it MotoBlur” UI, which seems quicker and cleaner than the CLIQ if not as spartan as the original Droid. iOS 4 on the other hand is iOS 4, there’s only one iPhone and one interface on the market at any time.

Strangely, that may mean the Motorola Droid X will face stiffer competition from something other than Apple’s iPhone 4. Verizon already has the HTC Droid Incredible, Sprint the HTC Evo 4G, and every carrier and their subsidiary seems poised to get a Samsung Galaxy S class-device, including Verizon with the Facinate. As we’ve mentioned before, in a world where Apple releases one major iPhone a year, and Android can drop 8 news phones in a weekend, it gives any one new Android as much competition from within as without. And that’s great for Android lovers.

So is the Droid X currently iPhone 4’s big nemesis? If you live in the US and don’t want AT&T, it’s definitely a phone to look at if you’re in the market today. If not, wait a week or more. AT&T might drop a tower in your backyard and Google might just drop 5 more Android’s on another carrier.

Great time to be a consumer!

Droid X review: Verizon and Motorola’s answer to iPhone 4? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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The XGear Folio Carbon Fiber Case for iPad is slim, strong, and sexy, with a suede interior and what feels like a darn-near bullet proof outer shell. In sharp contrast to the plush, old-world, executive leather of the Marware Eco-vue, the XGear Folio is sleek, futuristic materials and textures. It adds considerable protection against scrapes and scuffs, if not as much against shocks and drops.

The cover is double-jointed and can be folded back to prop the iPad up for easier typing or viewing in landscape mode, or to keep it standing for a portrait-mode picture frame.

You secure it closed or folded back with a little, tuck-in flange. I’m not crazy about that. It works but the sight of it when it’s not tucked annoyed me. The elastic band, like the old-school moleskins, seems more elegant. Score one for retro.

There aren’t any interior pockets or slots of cards or papers, but given the slim nature of the folio that’s fine.

What you get with the The XGear Folio Carbon Fiber Case for iPad is no more and no less than a super-strong external shell that’ll keep your iPhone safe and otherwise stay out of your way. Check out the video above and photos below, and if you like what you see, it’s available now from the TiPb iPad accessory store.

Pros

• Carbon fiber exterior
• Slim profile for easy stowing
• Easily propped up for typing, viewing

Cons

• Minimal impact protection
• Flange is annoying

TiPb review rating

XGear Folio Carbon Fiber Case for iPad – accessory review is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Still suffering from iPhone 4 proximity sensor problems? Face dialing a family member while on the phone for business? Hanging up or muting with the brush of a cheek? Macworld has a list of things that could help fix it up:

• Reset “Network Settings”
• Reset “All Settings”
• Soft reboot (hold down sleep button)
• Hard reboot (hold down sleep + home)

Like the clean re-install we mentioned previously, some of these seem to work for some people with the problem some of the time. Hey, it’s problem solving in complete darkness, it’ll be hit and miss. Macworld’s “hunch” is that it’s not as widespread as the antenna attenuation problem and that it’s most likely a software glitch that will get fixed in the next firmware updated. That doesn’t mean, however, that it won’t drive afflicted users crazy in the meantime.

Are you still suffering from iPhone 4 proximity sensor problems? Let us know in the comments, and let us know what — if any — solutions have worked for you as well.

[Macworld]

More potential iPhone 4 proximity sensor fixes is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Dictionary.com is one application that everyone should have on their iPad. Dictionary.com has 1,000,000 words, 90,000 synonyms, antonyms and since it caches everything right on your iPad, there’s no need to be connected to the internet to use it. There is also a audio feature so you can ensure you will pronounce the words properly, and a word of the day — with its definition explained — to help grow your vocabulary.

The interface of Dictionary.com is very clean and easy to access. The main screen has a search bar for the thesaurus or the dictionary. Once the word is written you have a pull down list of words to choose from. The word is then displayed with the definitions. The words origin, history, phonetic and audio pronunciation are also accessible from this screen. The thesaurus is similar in format, with a simple search bar and pull down menu of words to access.

[iTunes Link].

Pros

• No internet connection needed for basic use
• Easy to use interface
• Free!!!

Cons

• Not all words have audio
• Need Internet for extra features

Quick Review: Dictionary.com for the iPad is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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When you sync contacts from more than one source (i.e. Exchange and MobileMe, on-device and Google Sync, etc.), and there are duplicates, rather than showing the same contact twice iOS 4 will instead create a single, linked contact. This works on any iOS 4 device, including iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, recent iPod touch, etc.

When you look at a linked contact, the header will show Unified Info at the top so you know it’s linked. At the very bottom of the contact it will show you the source of the links (i.e MobileMe, Google). Tapping on the source lets you see the original, non-unfied info from just that source.

If you don’t like the idea of your contacts being linked, you can tap edit and hit Unlink. If iOS 4 missed linking a contact that ought be linked, tap edit, scroll down to the bottom, tap Link Contact and choose the contact you want linked.

[Thanks T.J!]

iOS 4 feature: Linked contacts is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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