MacStories is claiming a “reliable source” has told them Apple was targeting a December release for their next update, iOS 4.3 for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad:

when Apple didn't know about the WiFi issues in the GM seed of iOS 4.2, the OS was scheduled to be released weeks before Nov. 22nd. Apple found out about the WiFi issues, released a second GM build and iOS 4.2 came out yesterday. It came out in November, but it should have been out in the first half of November. Anyway, before the WiFi issues were discovered, Apple was already planning to release a new build of iOS 4.x in mid-December. Most specifically, they were planning for an iOS 4.3 release on December 13th, which is a Monday.

Our source tells us it is unclear whether the "extra time" that was required to ship iOS 4.2 (actually, it's iOS 4.2.1) will cause a delay for the rumored release of iOS 4.3 on December 13th or not. iOS 4.3 should, however, include bug fixes and maintenance of the code. It's likely that 4.3 will also address the initial issues found in AirPlay, but we can't confirm this just yet.

This is all supposed to tie in to the rumored App Store subscriptions Apple may be about to launch alongside Newscorps’ The Daily iPad newspaper app, and the also rumored December Apple special event with Steve Jobs and Rupert Murdoch.

Unlike hardware refreshes where Apple has stuck to reliable yearly schedule so far, software updates have been all over the place. iOS 4 came out in June. iOS 4.1 came out in September. iOS 4.2 came out just yesterday (November). iOS 3 only ever went to iOS 3.1.3 in February 2010. iOS 2 went to version 2.2.1 in January 2009. iOS 1 went to 1.1.4 in February 2008 (not including an iPod touch-only 1.1.5 security fix).

Could we really see iOS 4.3 in December, a month or less after the last update? Give us your guesses in the comments!

[MacStories]

iOS 4.3 rumored for December? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Interested in how to get network AirPrint working again via your Windows PC? Without much of an explanation, AirPrint was severely gutted just prior to iOS 4.2’s release, retaining support for only a small handful of wireless printers. However, we recently posted on how to restore network printing to Mac OS X 10.6.5, and now we’re here to tell you how to restore it to Windows 7 as well. Check our easy to follow step-by-step instructions after the break!

To Re-Enable AirPrint on Windows 7:

• Install iTunes 10.1
• Download AirPrint.zip (airprint.exe, libairprint.dll, XpdfPrint.dll)
• Unzip it.
• Make a folder, “C:\Program Files\AirPrint\” or (64-bit= C:\Program Files (x86)\AirPrint\”
• Copy the files to “C:\Program Files\AirPrint\” or (64-bit= C:\Program Files (x86)\AirPrint\”
• Run “cmd.exe” as administrator (Open “Run” from Start Menu and type CMD)

• Run the following commands (There should be a space between ‘=’ and ‘”‘)

• Windows 64bit:

  • sc.exe create AirPrint binPath= “C:\Program Files (x86)\AirPrint\airprint.exe -s” depend= “Bonjour Service” start= auto
  • sc.exe start AirPrint

• Windows 32bit:

  • sc.exe create AirPrint binPath= “C:\Program Files\AirPrint\airprint.exe -s” depend= “Bonjour Service” start= auto
  • sc.exe start AirPrint

• Let Windows Firewall allow AirPrint to communicate on the networks (Double click on the airprint.exe) or you can manually add to Windows Firewall exceptions.

• Make sure you have set your printer as shared on both your network settings and on the printers settings.
• On your device you will be asked for Admin ID and PW the first time you print unless you have a guest account enabled.

That’s it! Let us know how it works for you and if you have any questions or comments, leave them below!

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you'd like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to dailytips@tipb.com. (If it's especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we'll even give ya a reward…)

Ninja Tip: How to re-enable iOS 4.2 network AirPrint on Windows is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

BugMe!, the "Original Sticky Note App," has received a nice little update and now offers a universal binary for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. In case you are unfamiliar with BugMe!, here is a quick description:

BugMe! for iOS lets users jot quick notes and doodles – with their finger as the pen – just like a digital sticky note. BugMe! also offers keyboard support, allowing users to type longer notes they would otherwise be scribbling with their finger. BugMe!'s notes can be organized for reference, and even shaken into place. Users can set an alarm time on each note and BugMe! will sound the alarm and show a reminder when the task is due. The BugMe! Badges display how many of these notes are now due.

The update is already available in the App Store, free for previous users and only $1.99 for new users. Check out the update and let us know how you like using it on the iPad!

[ iTunes Link ]

BugMe! updated, now universal app for iPhone and iPad is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

We mentioned this back during the betas, but it’s worth a mention again as many iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS owners out there finished their iOS 4.2 update yesterday only to discover something missing — the new text tones! Yes, for some reason Apple has chosen to only make those available on iPhone 4. No iPhone 4, no new text tones.

But why, you ask? We’re wondering the same thing. We know this can’t be performance-related, that’s for sure. This makes us curious about what an email response from Steve Jobs would look like on the matter.

(Not that the new text tones are anything to write home about — check out the video after the break if you want to hear them in action.)

Any iPhone 3G or iPhones 3GS owners out there feel left out in the cold and care to speculate?

No new text tones in iOS 4.2 for iPhone 3GS — why? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

The Otter Box Commuter Series for iPad may just be the ultimate in rugged cases. I know, that is a bold statement, but I am really that impressed. What separates this case from the competition is that is clearly engineered by people who like their iPads and want them protected. You get a low-profile case with a lot of extras. Like many iPad cases on the market, the Commuter is a three-layered system…

• Layer 1:  Self-adhering clear protective film (Cleaning cloth and installation card included)
• Layer 2:  Durable silicone mid-layer
• Layer 3:  One piece custom molded polycarbonate shell

Upon removing the case from its packaging, you are presented with a flip-out installation guide that includes your cleaning cloth, screen protector and applicator. After reading the instructions (yes, believe it or not there is a RIGHT way to put this thing on) I was ready to rock and roll. My first attempt failed as the bottom right corner did not properly get placed in the outer shell appropriately. No problem though, on attempt number two, I was successful.

Once you have placed the Commuter case on the iPad, it is very well protected. You have solid polycarbonate protection on the back, top, bottom and sides. There are grooves in the underlying silicone to prevent them from sliding out of place which is nice. In other models of this type, the silicone would sometimes move after putting the case together and would require some adjustment (I did not identify this as a problem till I put on this case).

You have access to all of your openings: Speaker on the bottom, volume rocker, mute switch (previously known as  rotation lock), power button and headphone jack. The headphone jack has additional protection via a silicone plug built into the case. On the bottom of the case there is a hole cut into the back that allows the Apple logo to proudly display.

Now, here is one of the more compelling reasons to get this case. Because of it’s design, it really isn’t meant to come off frequently. That is a bit of a disappointment to someone like me who uses the iPad Dock and the Keyboard Dock. Well, my prayers have been answered and the Commuter has a removable plate in the back that allows access to a dock! It is easily removed and placed back again. As a matter of fact, I am typing this review on my iPad in the Keyboard Dock with the Otter Box Commuter in place!

Overall, the Otter Box Commuter Series for iPad is a perfect on-the-go accessory for everyday handheld technology. It doesn’t get in the way (literally with the dock plate on the back) and you have piece of mind knowing that your iPad is safe and secure. It’s available from the TiPb iPad Accessory Store.

Pros

• Very well protected without compromise to style or bulkiness
• included, quality cleaning cloth and screen protector, plus applicator
• OMG YOU CAN DOCK YOUR IPAD WHILE IN THE CASE!

Cons

• The silicone is a lint-magnet (note attached photos)
• What’s wrong with a little color? Only available in black

Otter Box Commuter Series for iPad- 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

If you’ve just updated to iOS 4.2 on your iPhone only to discover all your favorite music has mysteriously gone missing, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Our tip line has exploded with users complaining about the very same thing. It’s a scare for sure but luckily the fix is quite simple. Check it out after the break.

First take a deep breath. The songs aren’t really gone from your iPhone the bug is just stopping them from being displayed properly. All you have to do is encourage your iPhone to get its act together:

• Grab your cable and plug your iPhone into iTunes on your Windows or Mac PC
• When your iPhone shows up in the sidebar, make sure you can see the content listings beneath it (click on the triangle to the left if not)
• Click on music
• Pick a song
• Play it in iTunes
• Sync your iPhone

Voila! Go back to your iPod app on your iPhone and you’ll find all your precious songs just the way you left them pre-update. (Unfortunately you can’t send Apple the bill for pain and suffering…)

Thanks to everyone who sent this in! Did this bug fix work for you? Let us know your results in the comments below!

iOS 4.2 bugs: iPhone music gone after the update? Here’s the fix! is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

We thought the Back to the Mac event would be Apple’s last for 2010 but according to Daring Fireball there might just be one more in December — a Steve Jobs and Rupert Murdoch powered The Daily subscription newspaper for iPad event:

My understanding is that this initiative is going to launch with a press event, with Murdoch (and perhaps other newspaper and magazine executives) joining Steve Jobs on stage. This is not going to be a quiet launch, to say the least. But "this month" is effectively already over, considering that Thanksgiving is Thursday, so it won't happen until next month at the earliest.

(The date I've heard is December 9, but that's a Thursday, which would be somewhat unusual for an Apple press event. My guess is that they're telling people December 9 but it might slip back to Tuesday or Wednesday the week after. Perhaps it will coincide with the opening of the Mac App Store?)

The key, though, is that what News Corp is working on is not an iPad counterpart to an existing newspaper, nor is it an "online newspaper" in general. It's a "tablet newspaper" — and, at least for now, specifically an iPad newspaper.

Daring Fireball goes on to say this wouldn’t be a newstand store the way iBooks is a book store, but it would be an API method where developers could charge subscriptions via the iTunes payment system. (Interestingly, Apple announced in-app subscriptions alongside in-app purchases for iOS 3 but nothing seems to have been done with them — until now?)

Either way, Jobs keynote or no Jobs keynote, I’m still wondering what content Apple and Newscorp could provide via subscription that users would pay for given the web is free. Would convenience be enough, if the pricing was iTunes low and the experience just as easy?

[Daring Fireball]

Apple to hold special iPad subscription newspaper event in December? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Did you update to iOS 4.2 (4.2.1) yet? Will you? I know some of us were hitting update every minute on the minute, wanting to grab the new OS the moment it was available. I’m sure others will do it the very next time they’re plugged into iTunes. If you haven’t done it yet, are you waiting on the iOS 4.2 Jailbreak, or are you just not going to do it?

Give us your current status in the poll up top and let us know why — or why not — in the comments below.

• Updating to iOS 4.2? – what you need to know
• Jailbreaking iOS 4.2.1 – what you need to know
• iOS 4.2 problems and bugs

Did you update to iOS 4.2? [poll] is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

GridTab has been released on Cydia for all Jailbroken iPhones and iPod touches running iOS 4.x. GridTab configures Safari to use a gallery system much like the iPad when navigating through different tabs. For those of you who like using multiple tabs, this will give you a much quicker and easier transition between them. Why Apple has not made this feature standard in iOS is puzzling, but leave it up to the Jailbreak community to bring it to you first!

GridTab is available for $0.99 on Cydia.

GridTab for Safari [Jailbreak] is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Orange and T-Mobile UK both announced that they’ll be offering subsidized pricing options for iPads purchased with their data plans. Users must agree to an 18 or 24 month contract in order to grab an iPad with the discounts, which may reach as high as 62% off retail price. That would equate to a $250 price tag in the US for the $649 WiFi + 3G model.

Could we see similar subsidies offered on US carriers? Would you be willing to sign a 2 year contract if Verizon or AT&T were to offer similar subsidized pricing? Let us know in the comments!

[Orange]

Subsidized iPads coming to the UK, could the US be next? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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