Lightning Connector chip policies against third-party alternatives

Apple apparently has gone to great length and expense to ensure consumers purchase only its version of the Lightning connector. The connector, which debuted with the iPhone 5, includes a chip which serves to prevent third-party alternatives, according to a report.

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The Verizon iPhone 5 is GSM unlocked, tested with AT&T

I can confirm that the Verizon iPhone 5 is indeed GSM unlocked. Even though I bought an iPhone 5 from Verizon under contract, I was able to cut down my AT&T Micro SIM, and use it in my Verizon iPhone 5 to pick up an AT&T signal. By doing so, I was able to hop onto AT&T’s HPSA+ network, or “4G” as they so ridiculously name it.

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Starbucks to update its iOS app for Passbook by month’s end

Been wondering when you would be able to take your shiny new iPhone into a Starbucks and use Passbook to pay for your grande skinny vanilla latte? Well, wonder no more.

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Limited manpower blamed for crappy Apple Maps

In case you haven’t already known this yet, the Apple-designed iOS 6 Maps app is off to a slow start amid reports of inaccurate data sets, missing or incorrect places, lack of built-in transit data and lacking navigational features in general. Simply put, Apple Maps have a long way to go before taking Google Maps head on.

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NYPD: Register your iPhone and we’ll track it down faster

There is nothing worse than having your property stolen, whether that be an iPhone, an iPad or anything else. Getting it back may not repair all the damage, but it certainly goes some way to helping.

If you went to New York’s 5th Avenue flagship Apple Store, then you may have seen some of the cities finest, the NYPD, suggesting that new iPhone owners register their latest purchases with them. The reason? To help get hardware back to the rightful owners should the need arise.

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This upcoming tweak will add water effects to your iOS device

AquaBoard is a new jailbreak tweak currently in development by Elias Limneos. As you’ll see from the video inside, it adds cool water effects to your device’s Lock screen, and Home screen.

Currently, the tweak is set to be compatible with the iPad, iPad 2, The new iPad, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPhone 4S. I’m pretty sure that at the very least, the iPod touch 4th generation will probably be shown some love as well.

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Keyboard Shortcuts now sync via iCloud in iOS 6

One of the more under the radar items in iOS, is the TextExpander inspired Keyboard Shortcuts feature. Keyboard Shortcuts allow you to create quick shortcuts, which then expand to larger words or phases. It’s a feature that’s best used for stuff that you tend to type over and over again, which helps reduce repetition, therefore making you more productive.

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iOS 6 fixes SMS spoofing bug according to hacker

According to iOS hacker Joshua Hill aka p0sixninja, many security vulnerabilities have been stamped out in iOS 6.

Earlier today, Hill tweeted that pod2g’s SMS exploit was among one of the security issues addressed.

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Experiencing Wi-Fi problems in iOS 6? We’ve got a fix

Like other sites, we’ve been getting a lot of tips this evening that Wi-Fi in iOS 6 is acting up. Several of our readers have informed us that their Wi-Fi quit working after attempting to connect to a faulty Apple page shortly after updating to the latest version of iOS.

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How to jailbreak iOS 6 and install Cydia

iOS 6 was just released a while ago, and now we’re going to show you how to jailbreak it.

First of all, please note that this is a tethered jailbreak, and it only works with A4 devices like the iPhone 4.

Secondly, since there currently isn’t any jailbreak tool that will install Cydia just yet, we’re going to have to go about installing Cydia using a manual process.

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New teardown reveals 16GB iPhone 5 parts worth $200

Last week we saw a preliminary teardown of the 16GB iPhone 5 peg its bill of materials (BOM) at $168. This number is essentially the sum of the costs of all of the handset’s parts.

Today, however, a second teardown has been released, claiming that the BOM for Apple’s new entry-level handset is a bit more than that. It says that number is closer to $200

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iPhone 5 shipping times fall to 3-4 weeks

Apple started taking pre-orders for the iPhone 5 last Friday at 12:01 am. And it wasn’t 45 minutes after that, that people started seeing estimated shipping times drop from one to two weeks.

The Cupertino company would later announce that it sold 2 million iPhone 5s during the first 24 hours of availability. And apparently it’s having trouble keeping up with the high demand

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TinyUmbrella updated to support iOS 6

It seems like it’s been forever since we’ve seen a TinyUmbrella update. The SHSH blob-saver has been noticeably absent throughout the summer as Apple has released multiple iOS 6 betas.

But notcom, the utility’s creator, broke the silence this week, announcing that TU has finally been updated to support the new software. It now works with iOS 6 and the latest Apple TV firmware

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iPhone 5 finishes first in SunSpider Javascript performance test

The iPhone 5, sporting Apple’s custom A6 processor, is really turning some heads in the tech world. Last week it beat out the competition in Geekbench tests, and early reviews say the handset is extremely fast.

And the accolades don’t stop there. The first SunSpider Javascript benchmark, which measures Javascript performance, for the iPhone 5 was published last night. And again, Apple’s smartphone swept the field

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SVP Phil Schiller says Apple has no plans for an iPhone 5 dock

Starting with the new iPhone, Apple will be replacing the decade-old 30-pin dock connectors in all of its future iOS devices. This means that, sans an adapter, all of your old dock accessories will become obsolete.

This includes Apple’s white 30-pin dock — a signature accessory that’s been around since the early iPod days. Most folks figured Apple would update it this fall with the new Lightning plug, but apparently that’s not the case

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Bluetooth music dongle will keep your 30-pin dock relevant

Starting with the iPhone 5, Apple is going to be changing the dock connectors in all of its future iOS products. The new Lightning plug will be replacing the decade-old 30-pin connector.

Worried that all of your old speaker docks will become obsolete? Don’t be. You can either purchase a 30-pin to Lightning adapter, which Apple sells for $29, or you can grab the auris

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Analyst predicts 10 million sales over the iPhone 5 opening weekend

The iPhone 5 goes on sale this Friday in the United States and eight more major markets overseas, hitting an additional 22 countries next Friday. So far, customer response completely blew Apple away as the handset became AT&T‘s and Apple‘s fastest-selling iPhone.

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Apple Maps to integrate Russian Yandex’s data in iOS 6, report says

Google’s relationship with Apple may be on borrowed time. Apple Maps, set to appear soon in iOS 6, will reportedly use a local company’s data Yandex to provide location-search details in Russia. A developer version of iOS 6 will send users to Yandex.Maps for further information regarding locations.

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Inexpensive third-party Lightning adapters surface on Amazon and eBay

It is no secret that Apple enjoys quite a nice profit margin on its own accessories, cables and adapters for iOS devices. The new 80 percent smaller Lightning interface found on the iPhone 5, fifth-gen iPod touch and seventh-gen iPod nano is no exception.

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Google buys Snapseed developer Nik Software

Google is always on an acquisition spree but if their recent deals are anything to go by, it’s hard to escape the notion that the search Goliath is specifically going after very successful iOS developers.

It snapped up mobile productivity maker Quickoffice earlier in the summer and in July bought the Sparrow team and merged it with the Gmail team while saying ‘no’ to new features for the popular iOS and Mac email client of the same name, much to the horror of die hard fans.

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iControlPad 2: an open source gamepad with built-in keyboard

The iControlPad was one of the first iPhone-compatible game controllers to hit the market. It was a bit bulky, and didn’t garner much developer support. But nevertheless, it was a pioneer.

Well it looks like the folks behind the accessory, Product 3 LLC, haven’t been resting on their laurels. They just announced the new iControlPad 2, and it comes with a host of new features

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