Yesterday, we were concerned that AT&T might have capped iPhone 4 data upload speeds in certain areas. AT&T has responded and assures us that they have not; in fact, it’s a software problem.

You may have seen some speculation that we were somehow capping data speeds. We’re not. Here’s the deal: It’s a software issue which AT&T and Alcatel-Lucent have now jointly identified. It’s only triggered under certain conditions and has only impacted uplink performance for less than 2% of our customer base — those using Laptop Connect and smartphone customers using 3G HSUPA-capable wireless devices in markets with Alcatel-Lucent equipment. Alcatel-Lucent is developing a longer-term software fix in the coming weeks, but in the meantime we have implemented an alternative that provides normal 3G uplink speeds and consistent performance for affected customers using HSUPA-capable devices.

So the problem has been identified and a fix is in the works. Just to be clear, this is not an issue with iOS 4, but with Alcatel-Lucent’s software. More details about the alternative quick fix would have been nice, but if speeds are improving, that’s ultimately what matters.

Were you one of the ones affected by slow upload speeds? If so, have you noticed an improvement?

[AT&T - Thanks Gregg for the tip!]

AT&T comments on slow upload speeds: software issue is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Which has the fastest browser, Apple’s iOS 4 or Google’s Android 2.2? We’re used to browser battles here on TiPb, but how about a browser battle battle? See, both Ars Technica and Engadget ran some tests, pitting iPhone 4 on iOS 4 against the Nexus One running Android 2.2 Froyo and the results… varied dramatically to say the least.

Ars SunSpider and V8 benchmarks showed the Nexus One blowing iPhone 4 out of the water with almost double the JavaScript performance. Engadget’s real-world test loading real-world webpages, however, had iPhone 4 with a slight lead when Flash was enabled on the Nexus One, and slightly behind when Flash was disabled.

Both iOS and Android use WebKit-based browsers, with Apple running the Nitro JavaScript Engine and Google running their V8. Likewise iPhone 4 has Apple’s own A4 processor while Nexus One boasts a 1Ghz Snapdragon.

Some might not think iterative increases in rendering speeds matter, but as we race towards the agile future of web apps, every little bit becomes important. Just like on the desktop, we expect every new release from either party (and others) to keep pushing the envelop. We should get iOS 4.1 in September and Android 3.0 later this year as well, both likely faster than what we have today.

So kudos to Google. Hopefully Apple responds in like fashion and the browser battles (and browser battle battles) continue!

[Ars Technica, Engagdget, Android Central]

iOS 4 vs. Android 2.2 – Browser battle battle! is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Due to crazy summer schedules our newer, later time-slot seems to be sticking around for a while.

We’ll be talking iPhone 4, especially iPhone 4 bugs, is the $99 iPhone 3GS worth considering, where’s white, more iOS 4 awesome apps, and all the week’s news and reviews.

iPhone live takes over the home page 15 minutes or so before the show. Be here, and be ready to chat.

iPhone live tonight, 6pm PT, 9pm ET, 2am BST is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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You still can’t get a white iPhone 4 — manufacturing delays make them mythical as unicorns, don’t you know — but that doesn’t mean you can’t look at it. Here’s everything from the box to the band to the back plate.

A couple more pics after the break. So who’s still waiting to get one?

[Impress Watch via MicGadget via 9to5Mac]

White iPhone 4 gets pictured is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Several companies such as Wells Fargo, Mercedes Benz, and SAP are testing how the iPad can increase productivity within their enterprises. So, not only has Apple sold over 3 million iPads, they’re starting to gain traction into big corporations as well.  Does this mean the iPad isn’t just for reading books and watching videos on YouTube? (If you’re reading TiPb, we’re guessing you already know the answer). 

iPad is a pretty easy device to learn, but at the same time, powerful. iOS as a platform opens the door for companies to not only implement existing apps but to make their own native apps employees can use as well.  I own an iPhone and an iPad.  For quick e-mails and messages, I use my iPhone.  I almost always have an iPad around though, and for looking at Excel files or word documents for work, I’d much prefer the iPad.  With access to services like Box.net and Dropbox, it’s getting easier for employers to allow their employees to take work with them, therefore increasing productivity.

Ted Schadler, Vice President of Forrester Research had this to say:

“This iPad thing has taken the world by storm, …it came in as a consumer product and very quickly the people who actually bought them were businesspeople.”

BlackBerrys have always been known to be business devices, but devices such as the iPad allow a little bit more functionality without having to haul around a full size laptop.  It’s a compromise.  It’s better than a mobile device, but not as obtrusive as a laptop.  What do you guys think?  Could we eventually be given iPads as corporate devices?  For me personally, I live and breathe Excel.  For quick edits and checking numbers, the iPad is fine, but until I can integrate shared and linked workbooks and have VPN access to do so, I don’t think my work will be handing out iPads anytime soon.  I’ll keep crossing my fingers though.

[via BusinessWeek]

Wells Fargo, SAP, Mercedes Benz — iPad in enterprise is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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How does a photographer use his iPhone to get the job done and what iPhone apps help get him through his day? TiPb's iPhone at work contest aims to bring you just such slices of the iPhone life. Here's JustinHammondPhoto’s answer and as a small token of thanks we're sending him a $20 iTunes gift certificate. If you want to see your name up on the TiPb home page and get a gift certificate all your own, head on over to the TiPb iPhone Forum and share your story now!

I’m a professional photographer from Massachusetts. I have the wonderful job of photographing some of the most beautiful women in the world in the coolest locations all over the country. Models, celebrities, NFL Cheerleaders, it goes on and on. My work has been in magazines, advertisements, Maxim, websites… the works! I love my job!

I honestly realized for the first time when reading this contest how much I actually use my iPhone on a day to day basis for what I do. It’s a lot! Especially now that I have my iPhone 4, it’s been even more. Here’s when:

• I own a studio, but I’m very often on location shooting, which means no wifi (on the beaches, bars, outdoors, etc). So having a 3G connection is great. I often pull up Safari in the middle of a photoshoot to come up with a pose idea, or sometimes girls want to show me a picture of a shot they really love so it’s easy to Google image search some ideas! It helps out a lot during a shoot!

• Also, because I do travel to photoshoot, I’m always using Maps! Maps is so crucial to getting around because I barely know areas well. It’s definitely got me out of so many jams or has even helped find shooting locations! I remember this one time I was doing outdoor shooting and I pulled up my map and noticed a large pond nearby so we walked toward where it was and got some really beautiful shots by the water at a place I would have had no idea about if it didnt show up on the gps.

• It works great in times of urgency! Even last night, the “model light” on my strobe died (lights the model so you can auto-focus on her when there’s low light/lights off). Well, I pulled out my iPhone, opened the new trusty video camera, turned on the new amazing light from the iPhone, and my assistant held it to the model! It was perfect! I was so happy about having the new iPhone 4 last night.

• Also with the new video feature, being HD, I have decided to do some “behind the scenes” videos that I will be posting in the near future of my photo shoots. This is really great for my website and facebook page as a lot of models/fans follow my work, and it’s real fun at photoshoots. I am beyond excited about that. I may even start video blogging and doing tips/pointer videos for photography.

• I also use it for networking with models and clients or even friends with my photography. I save all of my edited photos to my iPhone so when I am out and about, when someone asks what I do, I just open up Photos and show them my work right from my phone – they look amazing on the new retina display! It really allows me to have a portfolio with me at all times. Such a perk in the industry! It’s like carrying my book with me in my pocket!

Then obviously the basics! Calendar for booking shoots/remembering what I have to do that day, and Email for keeping up with everything going on in my life in and outside of photography.

iPhone tip: Always keep it charged/charge every night! I use my iPhone so much, so my battery tends to go fast. I do have multiple chargers to make sure I am never without it. The iPhone really is my personal assistant. If it could only bring me coffee and water and move around lights, I wouldn’t need to hire my real assistant anymore!

Favorite apps: Safari, Calendar, Mail, Photos, Maps. These are my most important and all Apple created! Thank you Apple!

You can see some of Justin’s work at Justin Hammond Photography. Are you a photographer? If so, what apps do you use to help you with your job?

iPhone at Work: Professional photographer is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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As you all know, we’ve been watching the App Store for iOS4 compatible updates. We’ve found a few we think are worthy of a postup, and as normal, if you guys find anything especially awesome, feel free to leave it in a comment or send it to me in an e-mail (ally (dot) kazmucha (at) tipb (dot) com) and if we think it’s awesome too, we’ll include it in our next roundup!

Hit the jump to see what we found lurking in the App Store this time!

Bing

Bing is relatively new to the search game, but it’s definitely holding it’s own. As far as search engines go, I’m a fan of how Bing is organized and how it now interacts with your social networks. Bing is now updated for iOS4 support (mainly multitasking). There was no talk of support for the retina display for iPhone 4, and I’m really hoping this is something Microsoft will eventually add. It’s already got a beautiful layout, that would just make it even more enjoyable to look at.

[iTunes Link]

CoPilot

CoPilot is a popular navigation app.  There are several versions of CoPilot, so you’d have to find the one that’s for your country.  It provides turn by turn satellite navigation and it’s now compatible with iOS4 and offers background navigation.  It’ll even continue giving your directions while talking on the phone.  CoPilot has also added support for the iPhone 4’s retina display.

[iTunes Link] – (North American Version)

Gowalla

Now this is an app I use on a daily basis and for the past few weeks, the GPS glitches had been driving me nuts. It would tell me I was somewhere I definitely was not, and it was creating spots in the wrong places for a lot of people. They released an update recently that allows support for iOS4 but there was one little problem, every single time you’d open Gowalla, if it was backgrounded, it refused to update your GPS location until you physically closed the task and reopened it, then it would show GPS accurately (some of the time). I was surprised to see Gowalla released an update so quickly, but the new one seems to solve the GPS not refreshing. I have also noticed for the past few days, it’s been spot on, which is a nice change. There’s also now support for the iPhone 4 retina display. Badges and Pins have been tweaked a bit and overall, I’d say I’m happy with this update. It really needed it, and I’m glad to see Gowalla has responded to user issues quickly.

[iTunes Link]

Waze

Waze is a unique type of social networking application that’s based upon movement. On top of that, it’s also a completely free turn by turn nav app that’ll give you traffic reports. The most recent update to Waze adds support for backgrounding and Facebook integration. The app will automatically kill the background task after 10 minutes of no movement. If you’ve experimented with it, let us know what you think in the comments!

[iTunes Link]

Osfoora

I’m relatively new to Osfoora (finally caved and got it after several people suggested it). I’m definitely not disappointed and it’s my main Twitter client (for now anyways, I’m pretty shallow when it comes to Twitter clients). The most recent update to Osfoora adds support for iOS4 via multitasking. I didn’t see anything about an update for the iPhone 4 retina display but the icons look sharper. I could just be seeing things, anyone else catch this or is it still the same? Overall, Osfoora is incredibly quick and multitasking will take you right where you left off. You can also upload a picture or video in the background, which to me is extremely useful, especially when I’m in areas with crappy Edge service.

[iTunes Link]

Updated for iOS 4: Bing, CoPilot, Gowalla, Waze, Osfoora is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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The BodyGuardz Protective Skin for iPhone 4 provides excellent scratch protection

I have just applied the BodyGuardz Protective Skin onto my iPhone 4 ($24.95 in the TiPb iPhone store) and I put at ease about not getting any more scratches on my iPhone 4.

Application can be a little daunting, but if you take a gander at the video above we’ll walk you through the steps. I find the trick is to not be shy about using the supplied spray so you can more easily adjust the screen protector and squeeze out those bubbles. It’s also worth noting that for at least a day after you apply it and sometimes a few days, your iPhone 4 is going to look a little weird – but having used these products for many years I know that the bubbles and ‘fog’ goes away completely.

After the break, a few more thoughts, a small gallery of photos, and a video showing how to apply the protective skin.

Once on, the iPhone isn’t any thicker, of course, and the glass on both the front and back are completely protected from scratches. The rear-skin is open so as not to occlude the camera lens, but that tiny extra thickness also means the lens isn’t resting on a table when you set it down, which I also like.

This particular skin has a glossy rather than a matted finish, but it also adds just a bit of extra grip to the sides and back, which I appreciate. I’ll note too that my iPhone definitely suffers from a fairly serious “Hold Different” Death Grip signal issue and the BodyGuards doesn’t attenuate it. If you’re looking to fix that, you’ll want to get an iPhone 4 case instead of (or in addition to) the BodyGuardz

So while application is a hassle (they include two full skins in the box), once you have it on your iPhone the knowledge that it’s protected from keys, grit, and other causes of scratches is indeed a balm.

You can get BodyGuardz Protective Skin for iPhone 4 from the TiPb iPhone 4 accessory store.

Update: Save 10% on all iPhone and iPad accessories — including BodyGuardz for iPhone 4 — with coupon code TiPb4 until Friday, July 9, 2010! [Sponsored]

BodyGuardz Skin for iPhone 4 – accessory review is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

We’re going to be talking quite a bit about the ongoing iPhone 4 reception problems tonight on iPhone live! and as prep, we wanted to see just how many of our readers have the problem, have it sometimes, or haven’t had it at all.

What’s driving us a little bit nuts on this is the range we’re seeing. Some people can literally put their finger on the antenna gap at the lower left side and use it as a network pause/play button. Others see the signal fall off but don’t drop calls or lose data connection. Still others can’t make it drop no matter what they do. And some have the best reception, fewest dropped calls, and fastest data they’ve ever seen.

We can joke and say maybe half the units are from a different assembly line, or that some humans lack sufficient water in their bodies to cause attenuation. We can take solace looking at Nexus One or Palm Pre attenuation demos that show all internal antennas can suffer from the problem to some degree. We can wonder if Apple hiding iPhone 4 in iPhone 3GS cases made them miss the issue or theorize their having bumper cases at launch means they must have known. . We can hear from RF engineers and antenna specialists. We can read Apple’s open letter on mis-reporting of signal strength and wonder if drop is low signal, no drop is medium signal, better reception is high signal. We can buy cases and hold different and hope for iOS 4.0.1 fixes. But we can’t make sense of it, not completely, not yet.

So give us some help. Give us your quick take in the poll above, and give us the details — what network you’re on, where, and what you’re experience has been like — in the comments.

iPhone 4 reception problems – poll is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Ngmoco has just brought out the ultimate game/tech-demo (to show your friends) for the iPhone 4 – Eliminate GunRange. It’s a virtual gun range game where you use real weapons to shoot targets. The concept is not entirely engrossing as there are plenty of other top-notch shooting games out there (ngmoco’s own Eliminate comes to mind). What makes this game fun and special is that it is the first game to take full use of the new iPhone 4 gyroscope. How does it work? Continue reading to find out!

The game starts out simple enough; you are presented with a single weapon, an M60. There are numerous other weapons to choose from, but you have to score well to unlock additional weapons with credits. After you select your weapon, you then can begin the ” Challenges” for your selected weapon. When the level begins you have a pre- determined set of targets to destroy. That is where the fun begins.

The enjoyment factor of GunRange does not stem from the fact that you are destroying targets, it comes form the amazing control offered by the iPhone 4 gyroscope. It literally “feels” like you are holding the weapon in your hands and where ever you aim your iPhone, the cursor hovers over the target. This level of control is unprecedented in previous iPhone efforts till now. It is simply a tease of what is to come.

What could be hum-drum central, ngmoco has attempted to make levels as interesting as possible, however there are only three ranges. For example, the first level is a basic shooting range. As you progress you being to shoot targets outside in a different locale. What makes the level and challenge enticing is that targets appear “off screen” and you have to use the gyroscope to quickly turn left and right. Speaking of turning left and right, you don’t have to rotate your whole body like Steve Jobs did in his WWDC 2010 keynote. Rather, I was able to successfully turn by simply lowering one side or the other to turn. This is also effective in racing games too, I have found.

For $.99 this is an easy pick up title. Will it keep you engaged for months to come, unlikely. But is it fun and cool to show off? Definitely.

[$0.99- iTunes Link]

Pros

• Awesome use of the iPhone 4 gyroscope Graphics are sharp and look good on the retina display
• Multiple guns and shooting ranges

Cons

• A bit repetitive
• Only three gun ranges, more variety would have been nice

Eliminate: GunRange for iPhone 4- app review is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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