Bump is a very popular iPhone app that people use to sharing information like photos and contact by "bumping" their phones together. It used to be restricted to only iPhone users, then it appeared on other platforms, and now you can share photos with your computer.

To share a photo, you must first visit https://bu.mp/ on your computer's browser and make sure your iPhone is connected to the same wifi network.

Next, you open Bump on your iPhone, swipe to the right to see your photos, and select which photos you want to share. To "bump" with your computer, you simply tap the spacebar on your keyboard with your iPhone.

The first time you do this, you will be required to accept the bump both on your iPhone and your computer, but this is only for the first time. Although Bump claims you only need to lightly tap your keyboard, you actually need to do it harder than you may have been expecting. Basically, the bump needs be be strong enough to be noticed by the software.

Onc the bump is complete, you'll see the photos appear on the website with options to download them all or download individually. You can also just simply drag the photos to your desktop (or other folder) to quickly save them.

As of right now, only photos can be bumped to a computer. You cannot share contact information, nor can you chat with the Mac. I don't see either of these as a problem, since users will typically be using this feature to share their own photos to their own computer. Most people have contacts synced with their computer and there's no reason to chat with yourself.

Personally, I'm very excited about this update and have bookmarked https://bu.mp/ on both of my computers.

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Georgia and Rene are joined by Marc Edwards of Bjango and Mark Gurman of 9to5Mac to discuss the idea of a 16:9 aspect ratio iPhone 5. Would Apple do it? How could Apple do it? And what's next for Apple after the iPad? This is iPhone and iPad Live!

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The 9:16 iPhone

• The 4 inch iPhone
• If Apple goes to a 4-inch iPhone, which way would you prefer they get there?
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Rumors of Reseach In Motion's iconic BlackBerry Messenger app wriggling its way over to iPhone may be coming to an end. Anonymous sources have claimed that new CEO Thorsten Heins shut down the idea of licensing BlackBerry Messenger to carriers and manufacturers as soon as he stepped in, and was actually against RIM doing any kind of licensing at all. Apparently the issue was "not up for discussion", according to the source. It's unfortunate that he made that call early on, considering he openly admitted to looking into licensing deals during the last quarterly conference call. Ex co-CEO Jim Balsillie was previously rumored to champion BBM on other platforms, a project which new sources claimed was called SMS 2.0 internally. They had even acquired a small company called LiveProfile to work on it.

Now, we already know that iMessage and BBM are pretty comparable, and there are plenty of cross-platform instant messaging apps available, so it's really unclear what problem BlackBerry Messenger can really fix. Adoption is still pretty high according to RIM, but unless they can stem their dwindling smartphone market share, it's not going to count for much.

Right now, RIM's survival hinges on BlackBerry 10, but I somehow doubt they're going to be doing anything mind-blowing with BBM when it comes out in the fall. Would BBM on iOS have helped save RIM at all, or is the market saturated with instant messengers as is and Heins was smart to save on development costs? Keep in mind that most of RIM's revenue is from devices these days, though they may need to pivot towards services if things keep going the way they are. Do you still have friends that use BBM, and if so, how much would you be willing to pay to keep in touch with them? How do you do most of your instant messaging?

Source: WSJ

It's been about a week since Facebook released Facebook Pages Manager, and now Facebook has announced Facebook Camera -- an app dedicated to viewing and sharing photos to Facebook. The big talk on the internet, however, is that this app comes shortly after Facebook's acquisition of Instagram. This is particularly interesting because Facebook Camera allows you to add filters to your photos before uploading -- these filters are strikingly similar to Instagram's filers.

Let's take a look. Here's Facebook's Cream filter next to Instagram's Valencia filter.

And Facebook's Copper next to Instagram's Earlybird.

And Facebook's Cool next to Instagram's Hudson.

No words are even needed to describe the similarities.

So the real question becomes -- did Facebook copy Instagram before buying it, or did Facebook buy Instgram to copy it? I'm inclined to believe it's some combination of the two. There's no doubt that Facebook has been working on this app since well before it purchased Instagram, but my bet is that it was when they started working on the filters they would include with the app that they pursued an acquisition of Instagram. Although the Facebook Camera's filters are not identical to Instagram's, some of them are strikingly similar. As someone who regularly uses Instagram, I noticed the similarities instantly. In fact, before comparing them side-by-side, I thought they were exact replicas.

Which brings to my next question: will Facebook Camera ever include the exact same filters as Instagram? Is this something Facebook should even consider? Some have argued that Facebook is competing with itself by introducing Facebook Camera, which is true in many ways. But ultimately, I think even if both apps include the exact same filters, they will both be independently successful. With the risk of sounding like a snob, the quality of photos on Facebook are not generally as good as Instagram. People typically choose to use Instagram when they want to share a photo they think is particularly good or some fancy collage they created. Facebook, on the other hand, is where people share anything and everything, including random memes and photos from the internet.

What's your take on this? Did Facebook copy Instagram before buying it, or did Facebook buy Instgram to copy it? Was this even a good move by Facebook?

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A recent feature in Fortune took a deep dive into how Tim Cook has been changing Apple's inner-workers, corporate culture, and relationships with the outside world. The general conclusion, gleaned from many anonymous Apple employees, is that things are drifting more towards traditional, stiff corporate lifestyle, which is welcomed by some, but not by others.

For example, any significant meetings have project management and global supply management in attendance, which marks a decided shift in emphasis away from engineers. Cook's repertoire with shareholders and  financial types has lead to heretofore unseen initiatives like quarterly dividends and stock buybacks. As an operations guy, Cook has also spent a lot of energy dealing with Foxconn and the whole mess of PR headaches that seem to perpetually haunt Apple's major manufacturing partner. Despite tightening up some of the corporate reins, Cook is reportedly very down to earth and lacking the gigantic ego of Steve Jobs; for example, Cook is perfectly happy to sit down with random employees in the cafeteria, which is something you would never expect Apple's late CEO to do.

It's interesting to hear about these kinds of subtle but important changes inside of Apple, and one can only wonder how they'll shape the next iPhone. Cook worked with Jobs for years, and obviously had the sane passion for great products, but rather than being fanatical and single-minded, Cook is starting to come off as cool and methodical. Such an attitude might leave something to be desired when it comes to stage presence, and produce slightly contrived ads peppered with celebrities, but at the very least, it should keep Apple rolling steadily onwards.

Do you guys worry at all that Apple will suffer in the long term without  a brilliant visionary at the helm, or can lead designer Jony Ive keep the magic flowing on his own?

Source: Fortune

NPD recently published the results of their Q1 2012 mobile PC market research, and as you might expect, Apple's iPad has dominated competing mobile PC manufacturers. Again. After shipping 17.2 million iPads in the quarter, Apple has claimed 22.5% market share, compared to HP's 11.6%, Acer's 9% and Lenovo's 7.7%. Among tablet manufacturers, the iPad commanded 62.8% market share, followed by Samsung with 7.5%, Amazon with 4%, and RIM tied with ASUS with 2.3%.

It's still a little weird putting the iPad in the same category as netbooks considering the wide gap in form factor and software, but let's face it: the use case is identical, so you aren't going to be seeing a lot of people willing to buy both a mini laptop and a tablet. Samsung leap-frogged Amazon to the number 2 tablet manufacturer spot, which just goes to show that a low pricetag is far from the deciding factor in adoption.

"Post-PC" has been a fun buzzword for the last couple of months, but after seeing how well the iPad is doing versus more traditional portable computers, one can see why the idea is gaining traction. Do you guys see a point down the line (or even today) that you would ditch a MacBook Air or Windows ultrabook for a tablet? Do they even belong in the same product category at all? At what point does one leave the tablet at home and bring a laptop, or are we still waiting for another product category to merge the two in a practical way? My vote goes to the latter; I'm a  huge fan of the ASUS Transformer Prime form factor, and I think ultimately tablets with laptop-style docks with real keyboards and extra battery are going to be the way to go.

Source: NPD

The extremely popular Twitter client Tweetbot for iPhone and iPad has just been updated to version 2.4. It brings a new search view, keyword mute filters, offline favorite and Read Later support, and more.

One of the coolest features of this update is offline favorite and Read Later support. Now if you're offline, you can still mark tweets as favorites or send a link to your favorite Read Later service. When you do so, you'll see a banner that says the favorite or link is queued. Once you jump back online, the action will be complete.

The updated search view of Tweetbot 2.4 now shows nearby tweets added with the ability to change location, location-based keyword searches, and improved search box, and a few other UI adjustments. To change your location, you simply scroll around the map. It's very cool.

Additionally, Tweetbot now has basic smart quote support including ellipsis and em dash. Also, when viewing a photo in full screen on an iPad, holding down on it will give you options to save or copy the image, view the website, or tweet the link.

Tweetbot has also added new gestures. Now you can dismiss web and map views on the iPad with a 2-finger swipe down gesture and if you swipe to the right in a profile view, Tweetbot will go back one level.

Last but certainly not least, their already incredible "mute" feature (which lets you stop seeing tweets without unfollowing someone) now supports keywords. Don't want to read about the Facebook IPO or the season finale of your favorite show, just add the right words to your filter and they'll be gone from your timeline. Better still it supports regular expressions (RegEX) so you have excellent, fine-grain control of your mute filters.

The best Twitter client for iPhone and iPad just keeps getting better and better!

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For today only, the iMore iPhone Accessory Store has the iGrip Charging Dock for iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 on sale for only $43.95! That's a whopping 45% off! Get yours before they're gone!

The iGrip Charging Dock is custom designed for the iPhone 4S, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G, AT&T iPhone 4, or Verizon iPhone 4 and allows you to charge your device while docked, as well as connect a 3.5mm audio cable to your vehicles stereo.

The integrated joint mechanism and tightening wheel allows easy adjustment of viewing angles. The dock itself can be rotated 360-degrees and adjusts vertically and horizontally (portrait or landscape) at an inclination angle up to 60-degrees.

The back of the iGrip Charging Dock features a microUSB female connector for the included DC charger, and with the lockable retaining clamp at the top, all functional elements and outlets of the iPhone 4S, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G, AT&T iPhone 4, or Verizon iPhone 4 are not covered and always accessible.

An integrated locking spacer is included to adjust to the size of your device, allowing an easy fit with most cases and bumpers.

When operating in the dark, there's an LED lit connecter area making connections simple and safe. The iGrip Charging Dock is a great solution for using GPS navigation applications, and easy to install on your windshield or dashboard.

Features:

• Custom fit for iPhone 4S, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G, AT&T iPhone 4, or Verizon iPhone 4
• Integrated LED connector area
• Integrated circuit and original MFI connector
• MicroUSB female connector on back
• 3.5mm audio port
• Easy one-hand installation and removal
• Lockable retaining clamp
• Compatible with most cases
• Rotates 360-degrees vertically and horizontally
• Great for navigation

Includes:

• Adjustable mount
• Charging Dock
• Self-adhesive suction cup adapter
• 5V 1.8A MicroUSB car charger
• 3.5mm audio cable

Shop iGrip Charging Dock for iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 now!

IDC released their quarterly report on worldwide smartphone market share by operating system today, and the chart looks more or less as you'd expect: Android has kept ballooning (59% market share), while iOS maintained a respectable second place (23%), while Symbian (6.8%) and BlackBerry (6.4%) continued their downward spirals. Windows Phone growth saw decent 26.9% growth since last year, but that still only amounts to 2.2% market share. All in all, 152.3 million smartphones were shipped in Q1 2012, which is 49.9% more than the same quarter in 2011.

With these trends continuing, it won't be long before BlackBerry and Symbian barely even show up on the radar and the smartphone game becomes a two-horse race - some would argue it already is. Between Apple and Google's operating systems, 80% of the world's smartphones are accounted for. I'm really curious to see if Windows Phone can manage to claw enough mindshare to become a viable third option, but it seems more likely that it will be a bit player just like RIM. It's interesting to see that even after a year of Nokia announcing its retirement Symbian it's still commanding the market share that it is. Despite the nosedive, BlackBerry hasn't managed to squeak up over Symbian market share, and at the going rate, they probably won't be able to swing it next quarter either. IDC actually had some advice for those lower on the food chain.

In order for operating system challengers to gain share, their creators and hardware partners need to secure developer loyalty. This is true because developer intentions or enthusiasm for a particular operating system is typically a leading indicator of hardware sales success.

That's true enough, but not many developers are willing to invest in platforms that don't have the hardware sales unless the manufacturers are paying them off. What comes first: manufacturers making phones people want to buy, or developers that make phones into things people want to buy? It seems like in the case of iPhone, it's the latter; out of the box it does pretty much everything any other smartphone can (admittedly with a great deal of polish) but it's the App Store that really gets buyers invested in iOS. That said, Android's app ecosystem isn't exactly healthy when you consider piracy and fragmentation, but the hardware manufacturers are able to address a much wider variety of tastes and needs. Should competitors be picking up Android's approach or that of iOS in order to snag third place?

Source: IDC

GameFly is looking to branch out into mobile gaming but instead of its usual rental model, it is looking to get developers on-board from a much earlier stage. The new initiative would see GameFly becoming the publisher and promoter of a developer's game. GameFly has set aside a fund for game developers who are already working on their next big game but do not have the resources to publish and promote it; GameFly would take care of that side of the games development

"GameFly is dedicated to giving consumers the best user experience possible, and to be their single destination for console, PC and mobile gaming needs," said Sean Spector, GameFly co-founder and SVP of Business Development and Content. "We plan to be a leading player in mobile games by launching our retail GameStore for Android and helping to fund mobile developers of all sizes to publish, promote and sell their smartphone and tablet games."

GameFly is already accepting submissions from game developers and the first title should be available later this summer. GameFly already has an app available in the App Store which allows users to discover new games and get great deals on lots of gaming titles. If you are a GameFly subscriber you can also manage your rental queue and manage your account all within the app.

Source: PR Newswire

A few days ago rumors began to focus on the idea that Apple was moving to a 4-inch screen on the iPhone 5 (or whatever Apple ends up calling iPhone 5,1). I went through the mental exercise of mocking up, and breaking down, the various 4-inch iPhone options to try and figure out how Apple would get there.

Now, however, the rumors are coalesced around one specific option -- one I initially thought had fewer advantages, and was hence less likely -- a 16:9 aspect ratio, 1136 x 640 display.

So what would could Apple, a company that prides itself in saying "no" even more than saying "yes", consider switching their best selling product, the iPhone, to a 16:9 screen?

The road to widescreen

Last iMore heard Apple hadn't settled on a new iPhone screen size. One of the versions they were testing had the same 3.5-inch screen, but they were considering going as large as 4 inches. There seems to be one or more prototypes with that screen size, including a 16:9 aspect ratio version. Since we also heard the next iPhone isn't shipping until October, there's still lots of time for them to decide. (Apple is the company that changed from plastic to glass screen in just a few weeks before the original iPhone launch, after all.)

Both The Wall Street Journal and Reuters have now reported a 4-inch iPhone. Previously a The Verge reader, who caught John Gruber of Daring Fireball attention, and later, iLounge heard something around 16:9 was a target aspect ratio. Yesterday Seth Weintraub of 9to5Mac ran the math and, with some other information behind him, and posted the screen resolution on at least one of the 4-inch iPhone prototypes as 1136 x 640. John Gruber once again paid attention to that ratio. Matthew Panzarino of The Next Web took the idea out for a spin, and asked the impertinent question I find myself asking all the time as well -- How would a 16:9 display help Apple sell more iPhones? [Update: John Gruber has weighed in on this as well now.)

The three laws of Apple products

There are three laws by which Apple iOS products seem to be governed.

1. Apple will only do things that grow profits now, or better position them to grow profits in the future.
2. Apple will delight users with magical experiences, except where doing so would conflict with the first law.
3. Apple will empower developers to make insanely great apps, as long as doing so doesn't conflict with the first and second laws.

Hobbies aside, Apple sells iOS devices by the tens or hundreds of millions. So far every iPhone has sold more than every iPhone before it, and that's a pattern Apple is going to want to continue. So far, the App Store has grown faster and larger than any software market before it, and that's also a pattern Apple is going to want to continue.

But there's a second factor to consider.

Design matters

Apple's Senior Vice President of Industrial Design, Jony Ive, has espoused a very specific philosophy when it comes to product development. Back in March, Ive told The Evening Standard:

Most of our competitors are interested in doing something different, or want to appear new — I think those are completely the wrong goals. A product has to be genuinely better. This requires real discipline, and that's what drives us — a sincere, genuine appetite to do something that is better.

Under that mandate, Apple wouldn't switch from the current iPhone's 3:2 aspect ratio to a 16:9 aspect ratio just to have a different iPhone. They wouldn't change for change's sake, or for fashion's. They would only change to a 16:9 ratio if made for a better iPhone.

Ive also, just today, told The Telegraph:

We try to develop products that seem somehow inevitable. That leave you with the sense that that's the only possible solution that makes sense. Our products are tools and we don't want design to get in the way. We're trying to bring simplicity and clarity, we're trying to order the products.

So the change from 3:2 to 16:9 should be a natural progression of the iPhone itself. Likewise, it shouldn't make anything more complex, cluttered, or confusing.

It should make it even clearer.

Adding a dedicated OS space

With all that in mind, the least likely option -- though the easiest for developers -- is for Apple to keep the app space the same on a 16:9 iPhone as it is on the current iPhone, and use the extra pixels exclusively for new and updated iOS features.

In other words, the main iPhone user space could still be 960 x 640, and an extra 176 pixels would be put on top of it, on the bottom, or split between top and bottom.

There are several things such a system space could be used for.

Static dock/fast app switcher

Right now the dock disappears when you go into apps, and the fast app switcher only comes up when you double-click the Home button. An even faster app switcher would always be there, recent apps only a tap away, controls and older apps only a swipe or two more.

Of course, it risks accidental, app-switching hits, and it's utility in landscape mode is questionable.

Static widget space

Right now, widgets are hidden away in the fast app switcher, Notification Center, and Siri. While many people have expressed a desire for widgets on the Home screen, there's also an argument to be made that making app data available in other apps is even more valuable. (The current version of iOS is an app launcher, not a Home screen hangout for a reason.)

Again, however, landscape orientation wouldn't be as natural a fit, and would either require new UI, or the awkward sideways treatment fast app switching currently enjoys.

Static notification space

Right now, Notification Center banners fold down over and obstruct controls like back buttons, and provide no in-app functionality. With a dedicated notification space, not only could notifications keep clear of back buttons, they could have enough room for in-app actions like iMessage quick replies.

The temporarily nature of notifications make them less suitable for a static implementation, however. If there are no notifications, it's wasted space.

And I'm not even going to bother mocking up how awkward that would look in landscape. (But see above.)

Static gesture control space

Right now, system-wide gestures are completely absent from the iPhone, even though webOS has had them for years, the iPad has them, and BlackBerry 10 is intent on using them as a major differentiator for pro users.

A larger capacitive area may mean there's room enough to explore more complex, if less discoverable gestures. That said, it's almost impossible to imagine Apple keeping a permanent dead pixel area around just for swipes up and down, backward and forward, etc.

Static iAd space

Right now a new iPhone costs $199 to $399 even on contract, and companies like Amazon have already experimented with ad-subsidized price reductions on devices like the Kindle.

Tweetbot developer and all around instigator, Paul Haddad jokingly tweeted this idea, and I'm including it here just to make him regret it slightly.

Apple made fun of ads in Gmail, no way they violate iOS with an ad space, no matter what any patents might suggest.

Static system space that can switch between some or all of the above

A combination of the above, but where widgets and notifications and gestures and all the rest co-exist in perfect harmony, in one Apple-only screen section.

And none of that is likely

Static system space on a small, mobile screen flies in the face of Apple's design philosophy. It would clutter the iPhone screen and ensure, likely much to Jony Ive's consternation, that no user could ever lose themselves in the content. The interface would always be there, staring at them, even when they didn't need it.

While more flexible than the hardware keyboards Steve Jobs mocked during the original iPhone launch, there are times when it won't be useful, and Apple is all about eliminating absolutely everything that's not essential all of time.

That brings us to...

Creating a bigger screen

If we apply Occam's Razor, the simplest and most obvious way Apple could implement a 16:9 aspect ratio on close to a 4-inch display, is simply add the extra pixels, optimize the system software, and let developers have at it.

In my previous post, I saw some problems with this approach:

Since pixel size remains the same, text size would remain the same, control/button size would remain the same, and touch target size would remain the same. Apps that use the built-in interface elements would simply add an extra row of information -- an extra row of icons, an extra row to the table or item to the list. The display would be vertically larger, and more information could be displayed on it. But what about apps that don't use built-in UI elements?

Safari would show more of a page's length, Mail would show an extra message, but games and anything with a highly customized, non-table based interface would have to be pillar-boxed. If developers made new versions that fill the extra space, those versions would be cut off on older iPhones. And if developers made 2 versions of the apps, it would mean more work for them and "fatter" binaries for users to download. (A universal app would go from having iPhone and iPad interface elements, to having old iPhone and new iPhone and iPad interfaces.)

While many things are possible, this doesn't seem like a very Apple-esque solution. It would fragment the iPhone platform for developers in a way Apple has resisted so far, and offer incomplete user benefits (increasing pixel count in only one direction).

More importantly, it would mean either significantly redesigning (or eliminating) the Home button, or lengthening the iPhone casing, or a bit of both. iMore has heard the Home button isn't going anywhere, and parts leaks have suggested it looks pretty much the same, so that leaves a longer iPhone and that... would be awkward. (Even if you remove part of the bezel to make room for it.)

Let's re-examine some of that.

Default apps

Apps that use Apple's built-in interface elements, especially table views, should enjoy some level of automagic compatibility on a longer screen. iOS simply shows more information -- another row, or partial row. These have been mocked up to death already, notably on The Verge and Overdrive. Here's an example of my own, if only to set context.

So far so good, right? Even if text and touch targets aren't bigger, more information is more. It's no accident, however, that most of the mockups have been in portrait orientation. Depending on text flow, landscape doesn't enjoy the same benefit, at least as iOS currently implements it.

The keyboard

The keyboard could be identical in portrait orientation due to the identical screen width, or Apple could take some of the extra vertical pixels and add another row of keys, either numbers on the default keyboard, or special purpose keys on custom keyboards (the way internet apps add @ or .com, for example).

It would be more of a challenge in landscape orientation, however. Would Apple pillar box the Keyboard? Scale it to fit? Stretch it to fit? Split it, iPad-like, to fit?

Custom interface apps

Apps that don't use the built-in interface elements would be letter-boxed or pillar-boxed in the short term (or if abandoned, for as long as they remain in the App Store), and updated to fit the new screen ratio as soon as developers get around to it.

Web and web apps

The web and HTML5 web apps are largely seen as size and aspect ratio resilient. They'll flow content into and around the space they have, and simply show more or less of it, depending on the height or width of the display. In mobile, they'll typically size or re-size to fit as well. Some websites and web apps will need very little or no changes to fit the new ratio perfectly. Others, especially more static sites that made fixed-asset assumptions, may need more work.

In portrait orientation, this means we'll typically see the same size content but more of it. That's because the width hasn't changed but the height has increased, and the content will fill the extra space.

In landscape, on fixed-width sites, we'll see slightly larger content but less of it. That's because the width has increased but the height hasn't changed, and the content will scale up to fit the new width. Fluid-width sites will likely simply fill the new space, keeping the content the same but showing more of it. (Though the nature of line breaks mean less additional text content would fit in than it would in portrait mode.)

Videos and movies

The current iPhone screen is 3:2. Most web video (i.e. YouTube) and most modern TV shows are 16:9. That means, where the current iPhone has to letterbox these types of videos, a 16:9 iPhone could show them full screen with no distracting black bars.

Movies are typically shot at close to 16:9 or wider. 16:9 is 1.77:1. Most modern movies are between 1.85:1 and 2.40:1. The Avengers is 1.85:1. Star Wars is 2.20:1. Wider movies would still require letterboxing, albeit with thinner lines.

That means most videos will be bigger, and look better, on a 16:9 iPhone.

Backwards compatibility

Supporting both legacy 3:2 iPhone screens -- everything from the original iPhone to the iPhone 4S -- and the new 16:9 ratio would be trickier. It seems unlikely that anyone would be happy with new, widescreen apps getting chopped off at the sides or top and bottom on old, standard screen devices.

Due to the way the App Store works, separate apps for old and new iPhones isn't a great solution either. Developers wouldn't be able to give new versions away for free to existing owners, and existing owners wouldn't want to pay full price again for what's essentially the same app at a different ratio.

That leaves the ugly but not unworkable option of multiple binaries or at least multiple assets to support older devices and the the new iPhone all at the same time. Depending on the app, there could be some efficiency achieved by sliding elements around to fill or conserve space, but worst case it's another big bump in file size. More apps hit the 50MB cellular download limit, and the lower-end iPhones can hold fewer apps.

And if an app is universal and already has an iPad interface, that would make for three versions (or at least two with more complexity) in one binary.

So why would Apple go to 16:9?

Given the need to sell more iPhones and make a better product, and given all the challenges listed above, why would Apple go ahead with 16:9? Why would they say "yes" to this screen ratio and not proudly "no"?

Content really is king

iOS devices have always been a screen surrounded by the least amount of other stuff necessary to make it work. The screen, more specifically the content it displays, is everything to Apple. There needs to be a bezel, there needs to be mics and speakers and the barest possible amount of buttons and ports. There needs to be a battery and electronics. But as much as that can be minimized, as much as the screen and the content it's showing can be thrust forward, the better.

Design is constant compromise

If Apple doesn't want to make the actual physical phone much bigger, if they can't make the side bezel any thinner, and if they want to make the screen bigger and the content it displays even more immersive, there's only one direction left for the display to grow.

Both the iPhone 4 and the iPad 2 designs took away visual cruft from the sides. Rounded bands were flattened, think frames were removed and buttons and ports hidden behind.

Now, maybe, Apple is ready to chip away at the front.

It's not an edge-to-edge screen, it's not a transparent display, but given the limits of current technology and the premise that Apple wants a bigger screen without having to make a bigger phone, it's the best compromise they can make.

And with less faceplate and more screen, it could be a more immersive, and a better product.

Predation over competition

There's a school of thought that, since Apple's iPhone outsells all larger screened Android phones combined on major U.S. carrier networks, Apple doesn't "need" to go to a larger screen for competitive reasons. However, that doesn't mean they won't go there for predatory reasons.

Just because people are buying more 3.5 inch iPhones than larger Android phones doesn't mean people prefer 3.5 inch screens. It means, as a total package, they prefer the iPhone. Some users no doubt compromise on a larger screen size just to get an iPhone. Others no doubt compromise on getting an iPhone because they really want or need a bigger screen.

Apple may just have run some numbers and determined that a 4-inch iPhone could outsell large screen Android devices by even more. With a similar casing size, no current users are likely to jump ship. With a larger screen, however, some who chose size over iOS might just make a different choice. Introducing a bigger screen could increase the iPhone's addressable market, and sell more phones.

Conclusion

While rumors continue to grow about the 4 inch, 16:9 iPhone, October is a long way off and Apple may yet decide a more conservative, less ambitious iPhone screen is the way to go.

If Apple does go with a 4 inch, 16:9 iPhone, they already know how they're going to do it and how they're going to handle any problems, pain, and other turbulence during the transition. Apple has rarely shown an aversion to those things. They'll relentlessly pursue the future and expect users, developers, and even their own team to keep up.

And it'll be for two reasons and two reasons alone.

To make a better product and sell more iPhones.

Additional resources

• The 4 inch iPhone
• How Apple could provide direct document access in iOS 6
• iOS 6 and the opposite of widgets
• Is it time for Apple to revamp the Home screen?
• The challenge of bringing Siri to the iPad
• iOS 6 and privacy: How Apple should draw inspiration from Android for better app

The highly anticipated FTP client, code editor, CSS editor, and previewer, Diet Coda for iPad has hit the App Store. Now you can make quick edits to your website while on the go or on vacation.

A while ago, we were going on vacation, and facing a difficult question: do we take the MacBook, or the iPad? 95% of what we needed was on the iPad, and it felt right to travel light. But what if we needed to fix or post something on our website? We'd be straight out of luck. So, the Macbook was packed. And work on Diet Coda begun.

With Diet Coda, you can edit documents right on your server or staging server, quickly edit works on your servers, insert chunks of codes with "clips" by a single tap, and take advantage of the built-in terminal. Diet Coda also features powerful FTP and SFTP file management and support for HTML, CSS, JS, and PHP.

In addition to the introduction of Diet Coda, Panic has also released Coda 2 for Mac. It features a brand new UI and better text editing, file management, clips, sites, design, and MySQL.

Diet Coda will normally be $19.99, but it's 50% off until the end of Thursday, May 24. Similarly, Coda 2 for Mac is available for $49.99 (regularly $99.99) for today only -- so you better grab these quick!

Diet Coda for iPad - $9.99 - Download Now

Coda 2 for Mac - $49.99 - Download Now

Apple has released their third and fourth celebrity iPhone 4S ads, both starring John Malkovich and Siri. The first is called Joke and the second, Life.

While helping John Malkovich plan a night out, Siri shows him her funny side.

After John Malkovich gets philosophical, Siri is ready with an answer.

With classical music playing in the background, Joke sees Malkovich ask Siri for the weather, for his evening calendar, restaurants featuring linguica, and then for a joke.

Life sees John Malkovich ask Siri that very word. Siri responds with a list of idealistic, philosophical suggestions for how to better exist in the world. It impresses Malkovich immensely, and he thanks Siri.

Previous iPhone 4S commercials with Samuel L. Jackson and Zooey Deschanel featured Siri as well, as have commercials with santa, and with actors portraying regular people.

Highlighting Siri in commercials remains somewhat controversial, given Siri's beta status and user complaints that, in real life, results are never as fast or as problem free as they're portrayed in the videos. Polls, including an informal one run by iMore reveal Siri usage remains low among iPhone 4S owners.

Due to the relative newness and novelty of natural language interfaces in mainstream products, however, Siri remains one of the most demonstrable features of the iPhone 4S, which is no doubt why it gets so much of the marketing attention.

John John Malkovich

The best goram iOS podcast in the 'verse returns tonight to talk all the latest iPhone and iPad news, how-tos, and app and accessory reviews. Come join us!

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