The iPhone Blog


What's the best iPhone app you ever bought?

Posted: 10 Aug 2012 03:03 PM PDT

During a recent iMore show, I was asked to name the best iPhone app I ever bought and it really made me stop and think. When you take free apps out of the equation, and you start to consider what gave you the most enjoyment or stress-relief, or provided the greatest value to your education or business, or made the time you spent with your loved ones, traveling or at home, just that much more special -- when you consider what gave you the most value for your money, it really can be hard to choose just one.

But that's what I'm asking you to do!

Whether it was a $0.99 app that distracted you at just the right time and made you smile when you needed it most, or a $1.99 app that helped you find what or where you absolutely had to find, a $2.99 or $3.99 app that keeps track of things so your already busy brain doesn't have to, or launches things in a way that saves you a ton of time, or a $4.99 app that saved you $$$ on your bills or taxes, or even a $19.99 or higher priced app that helps you get things done on a daily and yearly basis, I'm asking you to think back over all the amazing apps you've bought and share with the iMore community the one that's meant the most to you.

I know what my answer is now, and I'll share it on the next show... along with some of the best of yours!

So think about it and tell me -- what's the best -- paid! -- iPhone app you ever bought?



iOS 6 preview: Siri reserves restaurants

Posted: 10 Aug 2012 02:27 PM PDT

iOS 6 preview: Siri reserves restaurants

As any good personal virtual assistant should, Siri on iOS 5 and the iPhone 4S has always been okay at finding you places to eat and drink. Now, with iOS 6, Siri is hitting the iPad, and adding even more restaurant savvy to its repertoire, including all the information you need to pick a place, and even the ability to reserve you a table.

Here's how Apple teases it:

With Siri you now have a personal restaurant concierge. Ask to find restaurants by cuisine, price, location, outdoor seating, or a combination of choices. Siri will show you a restaurant's photos, Yelp stars, price range, and reviews. When you find a place you like, ask Siri to make a reservation through the Open Table app.

Siri restaurant assistance is only available to beta testers right now, but Apple did show it off during WWDC 2012, so we have some idea how all the services will work together.

Here's the kind of information Siri will be able to present:

  • Type of food: Asian, vegetarian, American, etc.
  • Price: Average cost of a meal, from $ (cheap) to $$$$ (expensive)
  • Location: Street address
  • Distance: In miles/kilometers
  • Rating: Average, 5-star Yelp! rating and number of ratings
  • Operating hours: Days of the week and times of day
  • Reservations: Bookings available through OpenTable
  • Contact info: Phone number, website address
  • Map info: Where it's located and how to get there

Here's what you'll be able to do with Siri and restaurants:

  • Say "Find me a great place for dinner" and get a list of close by restaurants, sorted by rating.

  • You can tap into any one of them to get more information on that particular restaurant.

  • You can tap on reviews to see individual reviews, and tap on a review to go right to the Yelp app for even more.

  • You can also tap on reservations to go the Open Table app and secure your spot.

  • Say "Make me a reservation at Luce tonight" and get a list of spaces and times available. Choose your spot, and go straight to the Open Table app to confirm it.

When you tie that together with what Siri already provides under iOS 5, it becomes even more interesting. Add Siri's Pixar-like charm and natural language, context aware search capabilities, and you ask for anything from a type or quality of food to a specific restaurant, find out all about it, make a reservation, and be shown just exactly how to get there. All with the tap-and-hold of the Home button.

iOS 6 is scheduled for release this fall, perhaps as soon as September 19.

However, using Siri's existing location services, and the Yelp and Open Table apps, you can play around and get a taste of the potential right now:

For more on iOS 6 and Siri, check out:



1Password vs. LastPass vs. mSecure: iPhone password management app shootout!

Posted: 10 Aug 2012 10:09 AM PDT

1Password vs LastPass vs mSecure password management apps for iPhone shootout

Security is constantly at war with convenience. Having unique, strong passwords for all your online accounts sounds great until you realize how tedious it is to implement them and how impossible it is to remember them. Because your iPhone is always with you, however, and because it has some truly great password management apps like 1Password, LastPass, and mSecure, it can be the ideal way to maximize security and minimize convenience. Not only that, password managers can be a great place to store all your secure information, including credit and debit cards, private notes, software licenses, and more. They can also help you generate and help you implement all your super strong, super secure passwords.

Considering the serious hacking attacks we've seen recently, you should absolutely start using a password manager, but which one should you use?

1Password vs. LastPass vs. mSecure: Interface

1Password vs LastPass vs mSecure user interface

At launch, 1Password will ask you to set a master password and a 4 digit pin. After you've picked them, you'll be brought to the main menu. Here you'll see some default tabs along the bottom for logins, accounts, wallet, add, and settings. These may change based on what kinds of items you have programmed into the app. You can also change the sort order of these tabs by editing and dragging them into whatever position you'd like.

Under logins you can toggle sorting between title and domain. This is convenient for times when you have multiple passwords for the same domain. Once you find the item you're looking for you can tap into it. If you've got 1Password configured to protect certain or all items with pin access, you'll be asked for your pin or master password before any data will be shown.

1Password for iPhone user interface

Once you're viewing a credential for a particular site you can load it automatically by tapping the arrow next to the URL. The website will load and 1Password will plug in your credentials you have stored for you. The accounts tab will work in a similar way. If you've required master password access, you'll be asked before the app will show any sensitive information. I recommend this for any password management app. Next you've got a wallet tab that you can use to store things such as credit card numbers, bank account information, and more.

The settings panel of 1Password is straight forward enough and allows you to change things like sync options, master password, pin, how often the app should ask for a password, and more.

LastPass for iPhone user interface

LastPass is configured similar to 1Password when it comes to layout. All your main tabs are along the bottom and you can easily toggle between sections by just tapping them. How you interact with the app is a different though.

The tabs in LastPass are sites, favorites, add new, notes, and settings. All of your regular site logins will show up under the sites tab while any other types of credentials will show up in the notes tab. This is a similar section to what 1Password calls Accounts.

When viewing sites or notes in the LastPass app, tapping on one will bring you a list of options which provides super quick access to the command you want. Examples are copy username, copy password, edit, launch, and more. Tapping launch will load the site and automatically fill in your credentials for you within an in-app browser.

mSecure's main layout and interface is different than both 1Password and LastPass. At launch you'll be asked for a master password and then presented with the main menu. This will contain lists of your logins that you can toggle by either name or type view. Name view will list all your items in alphabetical order based on what you set for the description. Type view will sort them by what kind of login they are. Where 1Password and LastPass have different sections for each account. mSecure combines them instead.

mSecure for iPhone user interface

Tapping the lock button in the lower bottom right corner will lock mSecure instantly requiring a password for re-entry. Clicking the info button will launch settings. From here you can do things such as change lock timeout, set up sync, change fonts and themes, and more.

The other menu items are a sync button located in the lower left corner and a plus sign in the upper right which is what you'll use to add logins and accounts. When adding an item you can choose between several categories and give them names and descriptions. You can also use built-in lists to organize them or add your own through settings. Once the item is added it will appear in your main list. You can use the search bar at the top of the main menu to search for logins by keywords.

When it comes to interface and ease of use, mSecure and 1Password sort and manage passwords and credentials in the most efficient and user friendly ways while LastPass needs some organizational work.

Tie, 1Password and mSecure.

1Password vs. LastPass vs. mSecure: Accounts, logins, and auto-fill

1Password vs LastPass vs mSecure accounts and logins

1Password allows you to add several types of credentials, logins, and forms. Logins, namely web logins, are the ones you'll likely use the most. You can sort them by domain or title, and 1Password can use them to log you into your sites using the embedded web browser.

At first glance the accounts tab may appear to be similar to the login tab, and in some ways it is. The main difference is that the accounts tab can store information that isn't necessarily a web login. This is where you'd want to store things like Wi-Fi router passwords, POP or IMAP information for e-mail accounts, FTP accounts, or any other info that may not depend on just a URL, username, and password.

1Password for iPhone accounts logins

The wallet feature is similar to the accounts tab but is used for items such as banking and credit card information. I'd highly recommend requiring a master password or pin in order to access any of the individual items in this list.

While the desktop version of 1Password supports auto-fill with forms, the iPhone app does not currently utilize the feature.

LastPass supports the creation of many items. Adding an account can be done by adding a new item and selecting site. If you want to add another type of credential you can do so by selecting the type. The iPhone version of LastPass supports adding site logins, notes, bank accounts, credit cards, database info, driver's license info, e-mail accounts, IM accounts, insurance credentials, software licenses, auto-fill forms, and much more.

LastPass for iPhone accounts logins

Once you're done adding the type of credential you need to, it will show up in the main sites section under its own heading. This is one feature that I don't necessarily like about LastPass. Everything seems to aggregate under only one tab. The reason it seems confusing is that the main tab is called sites. Something like accounts seems more appropriate if it is going to encompass every type of login you have. 1Password uses different tabs for different kinds of logins and the names of the sections make more sense and describe what they are more accurately.

Once something is added to LastPass you can tap it to bring up a menu with options on how you can interact and utilize that item. Though LastPass does contain the option to use auto-fill, tapping into an item will only allow you to view and edit it.

mSecure takes the good approach to organizing your data within one menu that you can sort. When adding a new item you'll be asked for the type and whether you want to sort it into a list, adding an extra layer or organization. If you are over compulsive about organizing data and being able to find it quickly, mSecure will satisfy those needs rather well.

mSecure for iPhone accounts logins

From the main screen you can choose an account or login to view or copy the information to clipboard. You can also share it through e-mail. The one feature mSecure doesn't offer that may be a deal breaker for some users is the ability to launch a login from within the app and have it autofill for you. The only option currently present is to copy the data to a clipboard. You will then need to enter Safari or the iPhone web browser of your choice, navigate to the URL of the login, and use the pasted information where needed.

Even though it can't add or auto-fill forms from iPhone, LastPass only allows you to edit and view form data while mSecure doesn't support forms via the iPhone app at all.

When it comes to organizing and using accounts, logins, and forms, 1Password does the best job.

1Password vs. LastPass vs. mSecure: Generating passwords

1Password vs LastPass vs mSecure generating passwords

1Password, LastPass, and mSecure will all allow you to generate strong passwords within the app. Each will also give you some idea of how strong the password is based on how many characters and what kind of characters. Once you're happy you can tap save and it'll ask you to name and fill in more information about what the password is for.

1Password for iPhone generating passwords

To generate a random password with 1Password you can just go to add item and scroll down and select generated password. You can move the slider in order to change the amount of characters. You can also choose to include or exclude numbers and special characters.

LastPass for iPhone generating passwords

LastPass works similar to the way you would generate a password with 1Password but adds a few more options to the mix. You'll also generate them through settings instead of adding an item. You can toggle not only numbers and special characters but capital, lowercase, numbers, special characters, and more.

Most notably, LastPass allows you to enable options that make the password pronounceable or to avoid ambiguity. It doesn't have a feature showing how good the password is but provides many more options to suit any password requirement you may have to meet.

mSecure for iPhone generating passwords

mSecure also allows you to generate random passwords but through an individual login. When adding a login or credential you can choose the key icon in the password field to be taken to the random generator.

From here you can choose to toggle between upper and lowercase, numbers, special characters, and password length. Just move the slider to change the length and a password preview will be shown in the box. Once you're happy with it you can tap save and it'll automatically insert it into the field.

When it comes to generating random passwords, all three have the ability to generate great passwords that are strong and virtually uncrackable without a tiny army of servers and years of time.

Tie.

1Password vs. LastPass vs. mSecure: Cross-platform syncing and browser support

1Password vs LastPass vs mSecure syncing

When it comes to sync support, 1Password has built-in support across all their apps for Wi-Fi sync as well as Dropbox. For Wi-Fi sync, just have your devices connected to the same Wi-Fi networking and launch sync. For Dropbox support, 1Password will create a keychain item within your Dropbox that stores all your data for sync across all devices. This information is, of course, encrypted.

1Password has not only an iPhone app but an iPad app. The pricing and apps are a bit confusing as you can get an iPhone only version or a universal pro version that will work on both iPhone and iPad for just a few dollars more. There is also support for both Mac and Windows PC, and Android. The Mac version is available in the Mac App Store and the Windows version can be downloaded from the Agile Bits website. If you've got any Android devices you'll be covered in that arena as well. 1Password also has browser plugins across Firefox, Chrome, and Safari.

LastPass will sync automatically with its own encrypted servers. To sync simply go into settings and choose the refresh option and you're done.

LastPass has a huge array of offerings across many platforms including Windows, Apple, and Linux for desktops and WebOS, Android, iOS, Symbian, and Windows Phone for mobile. LastPass also supports browser extensions for Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Chrome, and Opera.

mSecure, like 1Password, will sync over Wi-Fi or via Dropbox. Upon initial setup you can just choose the method you'd like to use and then you're good to go.

mSecure also offers apps for both iPhone and iPad as well as Android when it comes to mobile platforms. They also offer support for both Mac and PC users but don't appear to have any native browser plug-ins.

If you're looking for a solution that provides support across almost all major platform, LastPass and 1Password are the best choices. While LastPass supports a few more platforms, 1Password supports the ones that matter the most.

Tie between 1Password and LastPass.

1Password vs. LastPass vs. mSecure: Pricing

1password vs lastpass vs msecure pricing

1Password has a few versions available for iOS. If you're only looking for support on your iPhone, you can pick up the standalone version for $9.99. For $14.99 you can pick up the universal iPhone and iPad app. The desktop version will cost you an additional $49.99.

LastPass is a free download for iPhone and also has universal support for the iPad but will require a premium subscription which will cost $12 annually. The desktop version for Mac or Windows PC is also a free download and won't require an additional fee.

mSecure's iPhone app will cost you $9.99 but is a universal app for both iPhone and iPad. If you've got a Mac or Windows PC, the desktop variant will cost an additional $19.99 to complete the suite.

While it can add up over time, LastPass' subscription can't be beat for first time users. You can get started for only $12 a year.

1Password vs. LastPass vs. mSecure: The bottom line

1Password vs LastPass vs mSecure conclusion

1Password, LastPass, and mSecure will all store your logins, credentials, and accounts securely but the way they do it and how you can interact with each app is different.

1Password provides a great product with support for almost any type of credential you can think of. It's also the suite that works the most fluidly across desktop and device. I've used a lot of password apps in the past several years and 1Password just works the absolute best.

In this case, you really do get what you pay for and if you're looking for a quality password manager that'll work across virtually every platform, look no further than 1Password.

1Password - $14.99 - Download Now

LastPass - Free - Download Now

mSecure - Free - $9.99 - Download Now



iOS 6 Safari still beats the competition with HTML5 rendering

Posted: 10 Aug 2012 09:53 AM PDT

iOS 6 Safari still beats the competition with HTML5 rendering

When iOS 6 drops this Fall an updated version of Safari will ship with it. When it comes to HTML5 rendering, Safari still seems to handle better than competing browsers including the unreleased Internet Explorer 10 browser for Windows Phone 8.

The folks over at wpcentral have managed to run some tests and use some existing data to pit the browsers against each other. When it came to JavaScript, Internet Explorer 10 did a lot better than both Safari under iOS 6 beta and than Android but it's worth noting that Jelly Bean has not yet been tested.

While SunSpider may show Windows Phone 8 pulling ahead for JavaScript, Safari under iOS 6 bested all the competition when it came to HTML5 rendering. Windows Phone 8 came in at a total score of 300 plus 6 bonus points while Android 4.0 managed a 280 plus 3 bonus points. Safari under iOS 6 came in with a total of 360 points plus 9 bonus points.

Given both iOS 6 Safari and Internet Explorer 10 are both still unreleased and in beta, these numbers could change from now and when the final release candidates hit. It'll also be interesting to see how the new version of Android Jelly Bean will fare in comparison.

Hit the link below to check out the full breakdown of which browsers performed better in what specific areas.

Source: wpcentral



WordPress for iPhone and iPad gets better interface, becomes far more useful

Posted: 10 Aug 2012 07:22 AM PDT

WordPress for iPhone and iPad has received an update that is sure to make bloggers happy. Now it includes a sidebar for quick navigation, support for Post Formats, a new WordPress.com Friend Finder, landscape support, access to your Dashboard, and more.

The new sidebar allows quick access to all your WordPress blogs including Posts, Pages, Comments, Stats, and even your Dashboard. Viewing your Dashboard is through an in-app browser, so it's not the greatest experience, but it's convenient to have it available for those time that the in-app features aren't quite enough.

In addition to all the new features of WordPress, it has also received an entirely new look. The colors and graphics have all been updated and look great.

I've been a longtime WordPress user and am so far impressed with this update. In the past, I used the WordPress iPhone and iPad as a way to get content up on the go, but never really enjoyed the experience. Now, if I am relaxing on the couch with my iPhone and iPad, I may just use one of my iOS devices even though my laptop and desktop are easily accessible.

Free - Download Now



Deal of the Day: 33% off Incipio Premium KICKSTAND Case with Stylus for The New iPad

Posted: 10 Aug 2012 07:16 AM PDT

Deal of the DayToday Only: Buy the Incipio Premium KICKSTAND Case with Stylus for The New iPad and save $13.04!

The Incipio KICKSTAND features a convenient slide installation that utilizes three sturdy clips for secure storage. With three points of contact, your iPad will slide in the case without a struggle. Included with the case is an Incipio Inscribe Stylus. Use the omnidirectional tip to write, draw and navigate through your iPad experience while your device remains smudge and fingerprint free. Comes in nylon and vegan leather.

Backed by our 60-day return policy and fast shipping!

List Price: $39.99     Today Only: $26.95

Learn More and Buy Now

Never miss a deal. Sign up for Daily Deal alerts!



Longer, more powerful battery for iPhone 5 purportedly gets sneak-peeked

Posted: 10 Aug 2012 04:56 AM PDT

Longer, more powerful battery for iPhone 5 purportedly gets sneak-peeked

If the new iPhone is going to do more than all iPhones before it, including LTE 4G networking and a bigger 4-inch, 16:9 screen, and not run out of juice faster, it's going to need a more powerful battery. And a more powerful battery is just what the latest round of parts leaks purport to show off. 9to5Mac's Marc Gurman and Sonny Dickson presented the pictures, and peg the details at 1430 mAh, 3.8v, and 5.45 wHr.

If this battery turns out to be what Apple's going with in the iPhone 5, it would make it 10 mAh, 0.1v, and 0.1 wHr higher than the current iPhone 4S battery.

When Apple switched from the 3G iPad 2 to the LTE iPad (3), they managed to keep the same battery rating, though not without making the new iPad 0.6mm thicker, and chocking the frame full of as many battery molecules as possible. The iPhone 5 might get a better, less power-hungry LTE chipset in Qualcomm's 28nm MDM9615, however.

With the new iPad, the battery also had to support a monstrous, demanding new Retina display. The iPhone made the jump to Retina back in 2010 with the iPhone 4, but if rumors of that 4-inch, 16:9 screen prove be true, Apple will also need to light up 1136x640 pixels, up from 960x640 in the previous two models. That's only an 18.33% increase, nowhere near as big a jump as the new iPad's 2048x1536 upgrade from 1024x736, and newer, more power-efficient panel technologies may help, but every bit of additional battery drain will add up.

Speaking of which, if Apple gives the iPhone 5 a variation on the new iPad's Apple A5X system-on-a-chip, which includes a quad-core graphics processor, the battery will have to account for that as well. It's possible an iPhone A5X would have better power efficiency than than the iPad A5X, but like it won't require less power than last year's Apple A5 in the iPhone 4S.

The iPhone 5 is also rumored to include a new, much smaller Dock connector, a new, much smaller nano-SIM card holder, and a new, thinner in-cell screen technology.

A taller iPhone, even if slightly thinner, with other components shrunk down as much as possible, could ultimately provide for a bigger and slightly more advanced battery, and do it in such a way that Apple can provide LTE 4G networking and a bigger Retina display, and still maintain battery life.

We'll likely only know for sure on September 12, just over a month away. In the meantime, hit the link below for all the details on this latest part leak...

Source: 9to5Mac



Desk Pets CarBot iPhone controlled race car review

Posted: 09 Aug 2012 09:08 PM PDT

CarBots are billed as "micro-robotic" race cars, and while that's pretty cool in and of itself, the really cool part is this -- they're "micro-robotic" race cars you can control with you iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, or even Android!

The box contains two parts. The first part is the CarBot itself. It comes in different colors and each color has its own frequency -- you'll see why that's important later -- and you can customize it further if you so wish. The CarBot makes sounds, but you can mute it with the switch on the top. You can also power it on and off.

There's a flip down, bare-bones USB connector on the back that charges it up, and it lasts for about 20 minutes on a charge. That's not great but it's about par for the course on USB powered toys like this these days. Unfortunately, because of the odd shape of the bare-bones USB connector, it doesn't fit into all USB plugs, and because of the size of the CarBot, it can't fit into USB ports are in between other UBS ports already in use.

There's also a mode button so you can pick just exactly the type of game you want to play with the Carbot. But we'll get to that in a minute.

In addition to the CarBot you get the CarBot remote control. It plugs into the 3.5mm headset jack and puts your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad at your beck and call. Unlike the CarBot, the remote control doesn't charge over USB, and it doesn't draw power from the 3.5mm jack. It takes batteries.

It also requires the DeskPets app from the App Store. And... it's not a great one. It starts things off in the worst possible way, with a giant Terms & Conditions intercept you have to agree for before the app will even run. Lawyers aren't programmers or designers for a reason. Once you're in, you're offered a chance to go through a Quick Guide, which is long and not very well done. (The second screen tells me how to re-enter a product code, which is never told me why or how to enter in the first place?)

The DeskPets app also has the website name on the bottom of the control page, where it can be accidentally tapped, and will then rip you out of the app and send you to Safari. Again, a really bad experience. They're thinking about themselves and not the user, which is exactly the wrong thing to do.

Once you're all set up and powered up, however, we get to those cool, important, games I teases earlier. You can race, you can drift, You can let CarBot's try to solve the mazes you set up for it, and you can go head-to-head, and CarBots-to-Carbots, in full on battle mode. Just hit the mode button on the top and pick your pleasure.

The good

  • CarBots are easy to control
  • Racing is fun
  • Battle mode is neato

The bad

  • Infrared control needs batteries
  • CarBots USB is poorly shaped and charge only lasts 25 min.
  • App is poorly designed

The bottom line

The Desk Pets app needs a lot of work from someone who cares about how it should work, but the toy itself is solid. CarBots is a lot of fun, even by yourself, and tremendously fun for a family or group of friends.

29.99 - More info



Apple Retail reportedly price-matching discounted iPhones

Posted: 09 Aug 2012 06:53 PM PDT

Apple is reportedly matching the close to $50 discount carriers and retailers have begun offering on the iPhone 4S. While carriers and retailers typically start discounting the current iPhone as it approaches the 1 year mark, and a next generation iPhone looms on the horizon, Apple matching them is somewhat surprising. Eric Slivka reports for MacRumors

A source has now revealed to MacRumors that Apple's retail stores have been given authorization to match these discounted prices from approved major retailers and carriers. In all cases, Apple will discount iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 models by $49.01 upon request.

Retail only, of course, not online. And bring the proof of the price you want them to match. Given Apple's stellar customer service, the extra hassle in getting the price match is worth it. All other things being equal, especially price, if you can't wait a month for an iPhone 5 and need a new phone now, now, now, go to Apple and save your $50 bucks there.

Anyone pulling the trigger?

Source: MacRumors



Omnifocus vs Todo vs... Things 2: iPhone task management app update!

Posted: 09 Aug 2012 06:53 PM PDT

Things 2.0 vs Omnifocus and Todo (updated)

Things, the popular task app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, was updated to Things 2 today. We recently took a look at how the previous version of Things stacked up to both Omnifocus and Todo. But how does Things 2 compare?

I've gone back and updated our shootout to include all the latest, greatest Things features. That includes native sync and the new daily review feature that allows you to see all your tasks due for the day and quickly move them to another day when needed so you can prioritize better.

Is it enough to win our recommendation over both Omnifocus and Todo? Hit the link below to find out!



iPhone 5 preview: New, smaller Dock connector

Posted: 09 Aug 2012 05:39 PM PDT

iPhone 5 preview: New, smaller Dock connector

Way back in February, iMore learned Apple was planning to ditch the traditional Dock connector to go with something smaller. With the next iPhone, new technologies like LTE 4G networking will need every millimeter and milliamp of battery they can get, while AirPlay and Wi-Fi sync are reducing the need for physical cables.

The moment rumors of a new Dock port emerged, many expressed hope it would feature a MagSafe-style connector, like Apple's MacBook line of laptops. Symmetrical, it could be plugged in without worrying about up or down, and magnetically coupled for better ease of use. Others dream of ThunderBolt (sadly, that requires PCI architecture, which iOS currently does not have). Others simply wanted to make sure all their old Dock accessories would still be compatible and still work.

Compatibility is an easier topic to look into, if only slightly...

Apple could be getting ready to ditch the traditional dock connector

The current 30-pin Dock connector is a monstrosity of legacy standards and abandoned interconnects. Up until a few years ago, the 30-pin Dock connector had 6 FireWire pins, 4 of which have now been re-tasked to HDMI. It still has 2 serial pins (sending and receiving), and 4 video pins (including the aging composite and component), it has an accessory detector and an audio connection detector, it has grounds on both ends, and it has 2 pins that are unassigned.

The Dock probably doesn't need the unassigned pins anymore. It probably doesn't need all those grounds. Given Apple's fearless aggression when it comes to dropping aging technology, it probably doesn't need the composite and component video pins, or the serial pins.

If Apple really wanted to, they could probably cut all the way down to 4 pins of pure USB (2 data, power, ground). If they did that, however, they could just go with a micro-USB connector, put a smile on the EU's face, and be done with it.

But they're not. They're going with a Dock connector, only newer and smaller. It's tempting to assume the worst, that Apple wouldn't go to micro-USB simply to maintain proprietary control over their Dock connector licensing program. We could also assume the best, however, Apple might be doing what they did with the original Dock -- making a single connector that can do multiple things in the most compact packaging possible. Likely there's elements of both at play.

Multiple things, however, means more pins. TechCrunch claims they've heard 19 pins. iLounge heard 8. 9to5Mac found strings in iOS 6 for 9 pins.

So lets build back up again.

Apple cut-the-cord to iTunes with iOS 5. Cutting the 30-pin dock connector down to size is a logical next step.

4 USB pins, plus 4 HDMI (2 data, 2 clock) pins would come out to 8 pins total. Add a proprietary detector pin, and you have 9. (There'd still be a 3.5mm jack for legacy audio.)

Take those 9, however, and add back the 4 audio Line pins (left and right, in and out) for and you have 13. If USB 3.3v and 5v are kept separately as they are now, that's 14. 2 serial pins, 3 composite and component pins (video out + Pb, Y, and Pr), and that could be a way to reach 19.

Obviously, for accessory makers and current and past accessory owners alike, a 19 pin Dock would offer a far more options. With the adapter iMore learned about in July, it would allow backwards compatibility for the widest range of existing accessories, including the aging video standards.

Unless Apple makes a very elaborate, and very expensive adapter or set of adapters -- which based on past history is highly unlikely -- an 8 or 9 pin Dock would greatly reduce compatibility with current and past accessories. Old cables could charge and transfer USB and HDMI data, but not much else.

Bottom line, space will be at a premium in the iPhone 5, and given the way Apple shoves old connectors aside, even their own FireWire, to make room for the future, it wouldn't be surprising if the newer, smaller Dock connector goes with the fewest pins possible.



0 comments

Post a Comment