iPhone Cruncher

Apple (AAPL) really is in the deep stuff now.

Sure, a Congressional hearing will be held soon on whether it is tracking iPhone and iPad owners. And yeah, suddenly a half dozen or so countries are investigating Apple. And there’s a class action suit.

But the real big deal is South Park has taken a shot at Apple and co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs over Trackergate in this week’s premiere episode of the cartoon series’ 15th year. The HUMANCENTiPAD episode, which can be viewed online, combines the iPad and the Dutch horror film, The Human Centipede: Three humans, one digestive tract and one iPad.

Maybe Minnesota Sen. Al Franken ought to air the episode during his May 10 hearing to examine what Apple and Google (GOOG) may be up to. The Invasion of the Privacy Snatchers controversy has been a bit of a horror show for the emerging apps industry.

Last week, British researchers reported they had found an unencrypted, hidden file on iPhones that stores location data. Users could not opt out.

Apple was slow to respond as politicians grandstanded.

Finally, Jobs Wednesday told the New York Times: “We haven’t been tracking anybody…Never have. Never will.” Jobs, on medical leave, told the paper Apple would fix the mistakes in a free software update that it would release in the next few weeks.

But South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone wasted no time in grabbing the issue by the throat.

In the episode, Kyle Broflovski, one of the South Park characters, is shocked to learn that he is one of the few people in South Park who doesn’t read iTunes Terms of Service. “You are telling me that every time you guys download an update for iTunes, you read the entire terms and conditions?” Kyle asks his buddies.

Check it:

Kyle finds himself being tracked by Apple goons, “business casual G-men,” even though he “turned off all (his) Apple stuff.”

John Cook said in Geekwire: “You know you’ve got a PR situation on your hands

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After a long wait, HBO has finally released its much anticipated HBO Go application that is available for Android users, iPhone owners and yes, iPad owners as well.

Of course, the application is only good if you are an HBO subscriber so those of you that ditched cable are going to be out of luck. If you don’t have an HBO account, you won’t even be able to get past the login screen.

For those that are able to login, you will be treated to all of your favorite HBO series and a select choice of movies, all available at the touch of your fingertips. So, if you are an HBO subscriber, and you’re interested, have a look at what the application has to offer:

• Keep up with your favorites. Watch everything you love about HBO, including HBO original programming, hit movies, sports, comedy and every episode of the best HBO shows, including True Blood®, Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire®, Entourage®, The Sopranos®, Curb Your Enthusiasm®, Sex and the City®, The Wire® and more. Plus, get bonus features and special behind-the-scenes extras!

• Take it with you. Get instant access to HBO GO whenever you want, wherever you are—and never miss a moment of your favorite HBO shows.

• Make it your own. Create a customized Watchlist to catch up on all your favorite HBO shows and hit movies at your convenience. Plus, set a Series Pass® to automatically load your list with all the HBO Original Series you love.

• Enjoy more HBO. Get even more of your favorite HBO programming with HBO GO—FREE with your HBO subscription through participating television providers.

If you’re on Android, you can find the app on the Market here. If you run an iDevice, you can find it for iOS here.

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April 29, 2011, 9:08 AM — With literally thousands of apps in the iTunes app store, iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch users, might find themselves a bit download-happy when it comes to installing third-party software on their smartphone.

However, the initial flush of love for apps may see you downloading software that you use once and never open again. Alternatively, you may have downloaded games (Angry Birds anyone) which you’ve completed. Subsequently, they’re taking up valuable space on your phone’s memory.

In just a few steps you can wipe the apps from your memory, freeing up space on your smartphone . Here’s how to do it.

Step one: On the Home screen, press and hold down any app.

Step two: The app icons should all now begin to ‘wobble’ and a small black ‘X’ will appear in the corner of each app. Touch the ‘x’ on the app you want to delete.

Step three: You’ll be warned that this action will remove the app and delete all of its data. Press ‘Delete’ and the app will be removed from your phone.

Step four: Press the Home button (the one in the centre at the bottom of the device) to stop the icons moving. It’s worth noting you can only delete the apps you’ve added yourself. Those that came pre-installed on the handset can not be removed.

Compare best mobile phone dealsSmartphone buying advice See all smartphone reviews

See also: How to download and install an app on an iPhone or iPad

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The white iPhone 4 is huge.

That sentence took on literal meaning today as reports poured in from all over the world that the long-awaited variant of the popular smartphone, which went on sale yesterday, is a full two-tenths of a millimeter thicker than the black model.

Why the white iPhone would be thicker than the other model is a mystery, but Apple CEO Steve Jobs and Senior Vice President Phil Schiller shed some light on the much-delayed albino iPhone in an interview with All Things D. The pair said that coloring the casing white actually ended up introducing many issues with the sensors and the device’s longevity, which was the cause of the delay.

“It’s not as simple as making something white,” Schiller said. “There’s a lot more that goes into both the material science of it—how it holds up over time… but also in how it all works with the sensors.”

It appears that Apple resolved those issues with some design modifiations, but a side effect may be the slightly increased thickness. Apple’s spec page for the iPhone makes no mention of any variance in the dimensions of the phone, however, listing both as having 9.3 millimeter depth. The company didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Will the extra girth create any issues? Apart from possibly increasing the weight by about as much as a corn flake, it’s possible some cases made for the black iPhone 4 won’t properly fit the white one. While a flexible case, such as Apple’s bumper, will probably fit either model, something more rigid—like this laser-etched mirror shell from LuxMobile—might not toggle from black to white so easily.

The white iPhone 4 was promised when the product was first unveiled almost a year ago. After numerous delays, it went on sale April 28. Customers wanting some cream with their Apple coffee can get their fix at Apple’s Web site, Apple retail stores, ATT and Verizon stores, as well as retailers like Target and Best Buy. Ship times for online orders

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A map showing location-tracking information from the iPhone.

(Credit:
O’Reilly Radar)

Apple wants
iPhone users to know that it is not stalking them.

The company finally broke its silence on the iPhone tracking controversy in an FAQ posted to its Web site, saying it’s only trying to get more accurate location information. The fact that Apple has been storing location information on consumer devices–unencrypted and without a customers’ permission–has caused an uproar in the privacy community.

In the FAQ, Apple says that it is not tracking users whereabouts. Instead it said it is logging the locations of Wi-Fi hot spots and cell phone towers that are close to the iPhone and is maintaining a database in an attempt to improve location-based services. Apple said that it cannot track individual users with the location information that is sent to the company because it is sent to Apple in an anonymous and encrypted form.

?  Jobs, Apple execs discuss iPhones and location (QA)

?  Apple advises users how location data can be used

However, a Democratic congressman isn’t satisfied with Apple’s explanation and wants a federal probe into the Cupertino software marker’s privacy practices, CNET has learned. Rep. Jay Inslee of Washington said through a spokesman that a Federal Trade Commission investigation is still needed to “ensure all the questions regarding this issue, including the lack of disclosure, are answered.”

?  Jobs says Apple will testify on location issue


?  AG wants answers on tracking from Apple, Google


?  Apple sued over location tracking in iOS

Like Apple and Google, Microsoft collects records of the physical locations of

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iPad 2 arrives in the Philippines | iPad 2 Prices in the Philippines | iPad 2 Authorized Resellers in the Philippines

Today, April 29, 2011 is the launch in the Philippines of the Apple iPad 2 – which said to be a must-have gadget for 2011. If you have an iTunes account, you probably have received an email saying that you can order the iPad2 online with Free Shipping!

I read Apple’s email to me a while ago and tried how to order the iPad 2 online. It’s pretty much efficient, eh. You can select which color (either black or white) and type (memory capacity) of iPad 2 you want. You can also also order additional accessories. What’s nice is that there is a “free engraving” of words you want to see at the back of your iPad 2. I tried to write my name and address to personalize it and it looked good! Lol. I am not (yet) buying, though. The last part would be adding you card details (Visa or Mastercard) to finally process your order. And I guess, all you need to do afterward is to wait for your iPad to arrive at your doorsteps.

Here are the iPad 2 Prices in the Philippines:

iPad 16 GB WiFi = Php 23,990
iPad 32 GB WiFi = Php 28,990
iPad 64 GB WiFi = Php 33,990
iPad 16 GB WiFi 3G = Php 30,990
iPad 32 GB WiFi 3G = Php 35,990
iPad 64 GB WiFi 3G = Php 40,990

iPad Smart Cover (Polyurethane) = Php 2,290
iPad Smart Cover (Leather) = Php 3,990
Digital AV Adapter = Php 1,890Here

Below are the authorized premium resellers of iPad2 in the Philippines:

Manila:

Digital Hub Robinsons Galleria
Digital Hub Robinsons Place Manila
Digital Hub Market Market
Power Mac Center Greenbelt 3
Power Mac Center Trinoma
Power Mac Center Megamall
Power Mac Center SM North Edsa
Power Mac Center Mall of Asia
A Shop Podium
A Shop Eastwood Mall
iStudio Shangrila Mall
iStudio Bonifacio High Street
iStudio ADMU Campus Store
Switch Alabang

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HONG KONG (AFP) – The iPad 2 went on sale in countries across Asia and beyond Friday as Apple’s updated gadget entered an ever more crowded market.

Apple’s original iPad defined the tablet computer market and was swiftly followed by offerings from the tech industry’s main players, from Samsung and Dell to BlackBerry maker RIM and Toshiba.

A late arrival to the tablet party was Sony, which only this week announced its own tablets a full year after the original iPad went on sale.

Now Apple is moving into round two of the battle of the tablets with a lighter, thinner, camera-equipped version of their original machine.

First in line in a queue of around 400 rain-soaked people outside an Apple store in Hong Kong was 16-year-old mainland Chinese student Dandy Weng, who travelled to the city from neighbouring Guangdong province for a device.

“I have waited for over 12 hours and haven’t slept in 48 hours — I’m very tired but excited,” he told AFP. “I will be the first in China to have the iPad 2! I’m speechless, it’s so exciting.”

A queue snaked around the Apple shop in a major shopping centre, with some shoppers loading trolleys with as many as a dozen iPads, priced from HK$3,888 ($500) for the 16GB Wi-Fi only model to HK$6,488 for the 64 GB Wi-Fi and 3G model.

Those trying to buy an iPad 2 online via Apple’s Hong Kong site, however, will have to wait a little longer — all versions of the gadget were already out of stock before midday.

At an Apple authorised retail shop in Singapore, only 100 devices were available for sale and most official Apple retailers in Malaysia quickly sold out of the iPad 2.

“Each of our flagship stores had 600 devices each on sale and they ran out just like that,” an official with a major Apple retail chain in Kuala Lumpur said.

Trade in “grey market” second generation iPads remained brisk in computer malls in the city such as Low Yat Plaza.

“We can charge more because there is a lot of

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Seriously, this time it’s real.
By David Goldman, staff writerApril 28, 2011: 1:31 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — The white iPhone 4 can really, truly, finally be yours on Thursday.

A full 309 days after it was supposed to be launched, Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) said it has discovered the secret sauce to manufacturing its smartphone in a white casing, and it is ready to put the device on sale at Apple, Verizon (VZW) and ATT (T, Fortune 500) stores across the country.

“The white iPhone 4 has finally arrived and it’s beautiful,” Phil Schiller, Apple’s chief marketing officer, said in a prepared statement. “We appreciate everyone who has waited patiently while we’ve worked to get every detail right.”

Apple simultaneously dropped another major piece of iPhone news: Its explanation of the location-tracking data file researchers discovered and publicized last week. Apple released a QA on the issue Wednesday morning, calling it an unintentional glitch.

“The reason the iPhone stores so much data is a bug we uncovered and plan to fix shortly,” Apple said. (For more on Apple’s location-tracking comments, see: Apple blames iPhone tracking file on ‘bug’)

The mythic white phone: Dozens of buyers lined up Thursday morning at Apple’s New York City flagship store to snap up the first available white iPhones. Many already had black iPhones, but wanted to swap for the newest and coolest gadget.

“I don’t technically need it. It’s more of an aesthetic thing for me,” said shopper Brandon Nuccio.

The black iPhone 4 went on sale June 24, 2010, but the white version was unavailable at launch. Apple released a press statement that day, saying the white models have “proven more challenging to manufacture than expected, and as a result they will not be available until the second half of July.”

A month later, Apple said it was still working

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Dozens waited to be among the first to buy the white iPhone 4.
By David Goldman, staff writerApril 28, 2011: 1:05 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Think the most anticipated iPhone 4 of 2011 was Verizon’s? Bzzt.

Based on one totally unscientific data point — the number of people who got up early to camp out in front of Apple’s flagship store on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue — the mythic white iPhone won hands-down.

Forty-five early risers were on line at the Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) store to snap up the long-awaited white iPhone 4 on Thursday. The store is open 24 hours, but the white iPhone didn’t go on sale until 8 a.m.

The Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500) iPhone, which went on sale in February, got off to a much quieter start. Just eight people were in line right before that device went on sale, though the freezing cold may have been a factor.

One of the first buyers on Thursday waited in both lines.

“I had the Verizon 16 GB black iPhone 4, but I came back to go white,” said Brandon Nuccio, a New York resident. “I don’t technically need it. It’s more of an aesthetic thing for me.”

Nuccio said he paid the full $599 list price for the phone, since it was too late to return and exchange his previous iPhone 4. He is trying to sell his black iPhone to make up for some of the cost.

Alan Diaz was a little luckier.

“I got a black iPhone 4 a couple days ago, but I wanted to see the white one, so I traded the black one in,” said Diaz, who had been waiting in line since 4 a.m. “I wanted to be unique.”

Several other white iPhone customers also already had the black

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Al Gore’s Our Choice is now an app

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Al Gore is bringing his climate crisis campaign to the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. On Thursday, Gore unveiled the digital iOS version of Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis, a rich interactive app that enhances the former vice president’s 2009 print bestseller.

The visually appealing app exploits a brand new digital publishing platform from a startup called Push Pop Press, which worked with Our Choice publisher Rodale Inc. and digital media producer Melcher Media on the project. You can easily navigate the book’s 19 chapters by swiping with your fingers. The app includes 250 full-screen images, some of which fold or unfold on the page when you pinch or spread your fingers. If you’re wondering where a particular picture was shot, you can tap on an image to summon an interactive map that displays its geotagged location. An hour of documentary footage is also included, showing, for example, 1930s footage of the Dust Bowl that plagued the American Great Plains and BBC’s footage of the deadly 1952 London Fog.

And the app also contains numerous original interactive infographics and animations. For instance, you can slide your finger along a graph to see how the world population has grown (and is projected to grow) from 1AD to 230. You can spin a dial to see various ways a passive solar home stays warm in winter and cool in summer. In a chapter on Harvesting The Wind, you can blow into the iPad’s microphone to generate wind on an interactive windmill. Throughout the app, Gore lends his voice to audio commentary.

The app is now available in Apple’s App Store for the iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch at an introductory promo price of $4.99. Gore is donating all his profits to the Alliance for Climate Protection.

You can watch a trailer of the app here.

I sat down with the former vice

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