Reuters is reporting that Apple has now completed work on its rumored online music storage and streaming service. Reuters also claim that Google is working on a similar service but its plans have stalled; Apple will beat it to the launch. The source of this new information is cited as "several people familiar with both companies' plans".

Apple’s plans will allow iTunes customers to store their songs on a remote server, and then access them from wherever they have an Internet connection, said two of these people who asked not to be named as the talks are still confidential.

A few question still need to be answered. When will this service actually launch? Will it be part of iOS 5? Will we see it announced as part of a revamped MobileMe service? How much will it cost to access this online music locker? What storage capacity will be offered?  No doubt we will have to wait until Apple actually announces the service to find out the answers to these questions.

More importantly, do you think that this is this the future for iTunes? Are you excited by the prospect of an online music storage and streaming service from Apple? Let us know in the comments!

[Reuters]

iTunes cloud storage and streaming service all ready for launch? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

The Giffin Wristlet for iPod nano is nice silicone holder for Apple’s tiniest screen-based music player. Just slip your 6th generation iPod nano into the stretchy case, then wrap the wrist strap around your wrist.

The case covers the on/off and volume buttons, protecting them from scuffs and scrapes and minor weather, but leaves the 30 pin dock connector and 3.5mm headphone jack clear for easy syncing, charging, and listening. There’s a cutout for the clip, so you can still clamp your nano onto a shirt or band or anything else if you so choose.

The wrist strap is quite comfortable, and the nice thing is you can really hang it on just about anything. And yes, it does let you weaponize your nano, kung-fu whip style — though it might not survive a lot of impacts. Unfortunately, it’s moulded out of the same single piece of silicone as the case itself so it’s not really adjustable.

All in all the Giffin Wristlet for iPod nano offers good protection, and the wrist strap an extra option for carrying around your music player. It’s available now from the TiPb iPod nano accessory store.

Pros

• Easy to put on and take off
• Protects sides and buttons
• Wrist strap works well

Cons

• Doesn’t protect the screen
• Wrist strap is not adjustable

TiPb review rating

Griffin Wristlet for iPod nano — 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

One of John Gruber’s little birdies has informed him that the part of consolidated.db — the database that stores iOS device location data and syncs it to iTunes — that keeps a historical record is actually a bug.

consolidated.db acts as a cache for location data, and that historical data should be getting culled but isn't, either due to a bug or, more likely, an oversight. I.e. someone wrote the code to cache location data but never wrote code to cull non-recent entries from the cache, so that a database that's meant to serve as a cache of your recent location data is instead a persistent log of your location history. I'd wager this gets fixed in the next iOS update.

Let’s hope so.

Are we putting away the torches and pitchforks now?

[Daring Fireball]

Apple time-based location tracking a bug, will be fixed? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

9to5Mac has heard that Apple is allowing select, high level gaming companies to get a head start developing for the next-generation iPhone 5 via a special A5-chipset powered iPhone 4.

The person who chose to share this information with us calls it the 'iPhone 4S', though the device itself only has typical Apple prototype nomenclature. He also shared that the device spends its evenings in a safe in the company's offices.

Apparently it’s otherwise identical to current iPhone 4, albeit with a special version of iOS 4 to support the dual core Apple A5 chipset and it’s 2x processor and 9x graphics performance boost.

Whether or not iPhone 5, expected to launch this fall, keeps the iPhone 4 form factor (like the iPhone 3GS kept the iPhone 3G form factor) remains unknown. An A5 version of the iPod touch should theoretically launch at the same time.

Given how Infinity Blade, Dead Space, and Real Racing 2 HD look on the A5-equipped iPad, Nintendo and Sony should be very, very afraid.

[9to5Mac]

Game developers testing Apple A5-chip equipped iPhone 4? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Every day, TiPb gets flooded with announcements for new and updated iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad apps and games. So every day we pick just a few of the most interesting, the most notable, and simply the most awesome to share with you!

• Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP: Now a universal app for iPhone and iPad! [$4.99 - iTunes link]

• Smurfs’ Village: Now with an egg hunt, new flower boxes, the ability to ask friends for help, and more! [Free, with in-app purchases - iTunes link]

• Catalog Spree: A fast and magical way to enjoy, share, shop and subscribe to the best catalogs on your iPad. [Free - iTunes link]

• Filterstorm Pro: A very robust photo editor for the iPad. [$14.99 - iTunes link]

• The MaSheen: The mind of Charlie Sheen in your pocket. [$2.99 - iTunes link]

Any other big apps or game releases or updates today? If you pick any of these up, let us know what you think!

New and updated iPhone and iPad apps for Thursday, April 21 is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Verizon joined Apple and AT&T this week in releasing their quarterly results, and during the conference call revealed 2.2 million Verizon iPhone 4 were sold since launch, and that iPhone 5 looks to be a world phone. Overall, Verizon announced 6.3 percent year-over-year increase in revenues, data revenues up 22.3 percent, 1.8 million net new subscribers, and 104.0 million total connections, including 88.4 million retail customers.

Demand was strong for new LTE devices — as well as for Apple's iPhone 4, which produced the most successful first-day sales in Verizon Wireless history when it was introduced in February to existing customers.

During the call, Verizon also said that the next iPhone, (presumably iPhone 5), whenever it is released (presumably this fall), will be a global device (presumably a hybrid CDMA/GSM iPhone 5).

The current Verizon iPhone already has a dual-mode Qualcomm CDMA/GSM chipset but the GSM radio is not enabled. Flipping that switch makes a lot of sense given Apple’s history of simple product lines and huge economies of scale.

There was not mention of LTE, which doesn’t rule it out but given Apple COO, Tim Cook’s comments during Apple’s conference call yesterday, we probably shouldn’t hold our breath until the technology requires less “compromises” (like poor battery life).

Did Verizon sell as many iPhones as you expected? Are you waiting on a world phone, or are you going to hold out for LTE? Let us know in comments!

[Verizon]

Verizon sells 2.2 million iPhone 4, says iPhone 5 will be a world phone is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

According to AppleInsider, Apple employees have been told this week, that they can't take any annual leave between May 20 and May 22. The announcement came via email to all store managers.

Now before we get over excited about the possible release of the new iPhone or any other new Apple product, it would appear that the days coincide with the 10 year anniversary of the opening of the first brick and mortar Apple Stores. The first Apple Stores to open were in McLean, Virginia and Glendale California; they were both opened on May 19, 2001.

Apple appear to be planning some kind of special event to celebrate the 10^th anniversary of its stores opening. Managers of the stores are said to be very excited over the upcoming dates although no further details are known at this stage. If we find out anymore, we will let you!

[Apple Insider]

Apple planning 10 year anniversary of first Apple Store opening? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

RockMelt has released a free iPhone version of its popular desktop app, a social-network, orientated web browser, that integrates with your Facebook/Twitter accounts, to share sites with your friends/followers as you surf, or you can update your social network statuses directly from the app. RockMelt for iPhone, brings all of these to the iPhone.

Since RockMelt uses your Facebook login, the iPhone App offers real-time syncing for your bookmarks, RSS feeds or social networks, between your iPhone and other computer. As well as offering their new “View Later” feature, which allows you bookmark specific items, like sites or tweets which you can read on your computer.

Unfortunately, there is no iPad app, as of yet.

Are you a RockMelt user? Will the iPhone app be replacing your current iPhone browser? Check out screenshots and a video after the break.

[FREE - iTunes Link]

RockMelt Social Browser hits App Store is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

I just restored as a new iPhone with iOS 4.3.2 and found I was missing a bunch of Settings, including the top level Personal Hotspot, Notifications, and VPN tabs. I use these a lot so needless to say it was disconcerting. After a bit of deduction, I was able to get them back. Follow on after the break to find out how…

Notifications controls which apps can send push notifications. Since I hadn’t enabled any push apps, I installed a Twitter client, it popped up the allow push dialog, I accepted, and the push panel appeared in settings. One down.

VPN and Personal Hotspot are enabled by the carrier file which is downloaded and updated separately (so iPhones can work on different carriers, with the features those carriers choose to allow). In addition to being top level, they’re also typically available under General, Network Settings. The problem was I didn’t have Network Settings either. A reboot fixed that.

Once Network appeared I went in and my iPhone began to detect the carrier file and settings, and then Hotspot enabled and appeared. Toggling VPN on in Network also forced it to appear top level.

And then everything was back to normal.

I hope.

Have you ever lost options in Settings? If so, let me know what if anything got them back for you!

iOS 4.3.2 bugs: Missing personal hotspot, VPN, notifications settings? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Wondering how to make your iPhone camera launch faster? Often find that you’ve missed the perfect shot because the camera app took too long to open? It turns out there’s a way to instantly call up the iPhone camera without any load time at all using a lightweight jailbreak tweak called Snappy — hit the jump to find out how it’s done!

Snappy is a jailbreak modification that lets you do a few different things with the Camera app, but its main function is having the camera available no matter what app you’re in — you can even use the camera instantly from the iPhone lockscreen!

(If you’re not sure what Jailbreak is, then check out our jailbreak starters guide first.)

To get started, go into Cydia and search for Snappy. The app uses the Cydia Store and costs $1.99 to purchase.

After you’ve installed Snappy, Cydia will prompt you to respring before the modification can take effect. After that you should see the Snappy icon on your springboard, but I use SbSettings to remove the icon from my iPhone altogether. Snappy uses Activator gestures so you won’t really need the icon once you’ve set it all up.

Once Snappy is ready to go, follow these quick steps to get Activator set to your needs:

1. Go into the Settings app and scroll down until you see an option for Activator.
2. In the Activator menu pane, select ‘Anywhere’.
3. From here you’ll see a number of options including gestures, button presses and tap commands. We’re going to set Snappy to activate whenever you tap and hold anywhere along the statusbar, but you can choose whatever gesture you prefer.
4. To quickly find Snappy just swipe up to reveal a search bar, run a quick search and then choose whether to default to photo or video taking once Snappy is activated.
5. Now close out of the settings app completely (tap once to go to homescreen, double-tap to call up the app switcher then tap and hold the settings icon until it starts to wiggle to kill the app).
   
6. Enjoy instant access to the camera from anywhere on your iPhone!

That’s it! No more waiting around for the Camera app to load and no more missing those perfect shots while on the go!

Bonus Tip: Snappy has a few other nice features including the ability to set the volume buttons as the camera shutter, making it even more convenient to take photos on your iPhone. To do this, activate Snappy and make sure the option for ‘Volume shutter button’ is on under settings. You can also set Snappy to use your current location or snap a quick photo upon launch.

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…)

Daily Tip: How to make your iPhone camera launch instantly [Jailbreak] is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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