LONDON – Apple has seeded iOS 5.1 beta to developers and it hasn’t taken some long to discover references to next-generation iPhones and iPads within it.

References to an iPhone 5,1 and an iPad 3,2 as well as an iPad 3,3 were noticed by Filippo Bigarella, reports Apple Insider, as well as a reference to an iPad 2,4.

While current second-generation models are referred to as iPad 2,1, iPad 2,2 and iPad 2,3 within iOS, iPad 2,4 has not been spotted for, with some speculating that it could refer to an iPad that will be compatible with US network carrier Sprint’s CDMA network.

Another interesting point to note about iOS 5.1 beta is that it isn’t available over the air – as future iOS updates will be – but must be downloaded from Apple’s developer site instead.

The developer build is coded 9B5117b and once installed cannot be rolled back to previous versions of iOS, Apple warned.

Apple also released a preview version of Xcode 4.3 alongside the iOS 5.1 beta.

SAN FRANCISCO – While there are many dozens of Android phones on the market, Apple to date has released only five models of the iPhone. Only three are currently offered by Apple and its U.S. carriers (AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint). Whether you’re planning your first foray into the world of iPhone ownership, or an upgrade from a now woefully outdated first- or second-generation model, choosing which iPhone to buy is a decision that requires some thought. Your options: The iPhone 3GS, the iPhone 4, and the iPhone 4S.
Cash as cash can
The first question, as it so often is when it comes time to buy shiny new electronics, is what your budget is. In theory, if you’re buying your new iPhone for yourself, you’re prepared to set aside at least $70 per month for service (and possibly considerably more, depending upon your service plan). Each carrier sells new iPhones with two-year contracts, so whichever iPhone you get, remember that you’re paying at least $1700 over the next two years to use the device.

But your phone’s contract cost is non-negotiable. Where you can save some cash–if you’re willing to sacrifice in other areas, as we’ll discuss below–is on the one-time expenditure you make when you actually buy the phone itself.

The iPhone 3GS is available for free from Apple’s online store, though you’ll have to sign a two-year contract with AT&T to get that 8GB model at no cost. (Apple sells an unlocked version of the 3GS for $375.) AT&T is the only carrier to offer the 3GS, as that phone is only compatible with AT&T’s GSM-based network. (Curiously, AT&T lists the iPhone 3GS for sale at $1, though as this article was published, AT&T’s online store claimed to be out of stock.)

Bargain hunters who’d like a phone released after 2009 can still save some coin by opting for an 8GB iPhone 4. It costs $99 with a two-year contract, which you can sign with either AT&T, Sprint, or Verizon. (Unlike the iPhone 3GS, the iPhone 4 works on the CDMA network used by Verizon and Sprint as well as AT&T’s GSM network, though you have to buy a phone compatible with that specific network.)

Then, there’s the latest iPhone model–the iPhone 4S, which came out in October. It starts at $199 for the 16GB model, with 32GB and 64GB versions available at $299 and $399, respectively. Again, those prices require a two-year contract; you’ll be able to choose which carrier–AT&T, Verizon, or Sprint–that you sign up with.

What’s in storage
If money is no object, your next must-answer question applies to storage. As noted above, the free AT&T iPhone 3GS and the $99 iPhone 4 are both offered only in 8GB models. And the phone’s operating system and stock apps eat up some of that storage anyway; you’re probably looking at no more than 7GB of usable storage with one of those models. Is that enough?

That depends. Will you be syncing your iTunes music library with this iPhone? If the answer is yes, check how much music you own by clicking on Music in the Library section of the iTunes sidebar and then looking at the status line at the bottom of the window. If you’re using iTunes Match, you can obviously free up plenty of music space, since most of your music will instead reside in iCloud, not on your device.
If your music library won’t be a problem, consider what else you might use the iPhone for. Many apps are on the smaller side–well below 50MB. But if you’re an avid gamer, remember that graphically intense games can gobble up 600MB or more in an instant. And if you plan to take oodles of photos–or shoot hours of video with the built-in camera on your phone–that’s another big potential space-eater.

Remember that the iPhone 4S comes with either 16GB, 32Gb, or 64GB–plenty more storage, if that’s what you need.

Feature show
On the hardware side, the 3GS is available in black only and sports a rounded back. The 4 and 4S are available in both black and white, and sport a straight back. You can still find cases and accessories for all three models, but accoutrement for the 4 and 4S are more readily available.

All three models support iOS 5, Apple’s latest and greatest incarnation of its mobile operating system. But there are significant differences among the three iPhones in terms of what they do and how they do it.

Cameras: Each can take photos and shoot video. The iPhone 3GS is limited to a single 3-megapixel camera and shoots VGA-quality video. The iPhone 4 employs a 5-megapixel still camera that can shoot 720p HD video, and a second, front-facing VGA-quality camera. The iPhone 4S uses an 8-megapixel still camera that can shoot 1080p HD video, and the iPhone 4′s same front-facing VGA-quality camera. Only the iPhone 4 and 4S support FaceTime, Apple’s video-calling technology for calls between iPhones, iPads, iPod touches, and Macs.
In plain English, the iPhone 4S can take point-and-shoot quality photographs, the iPhone 4 shoots decent photos, and the iPhone 3GS takes photos with a decidedly camera phone-esque veneer.

Processors: Camera quality isn’t the only way the iPhone 3GS, 4, and 4S compare along a good, better, and best scale. The phones’ internal processors mirror that line; the 4S uses the same Apple-designed A5 chip that powers the iPad 2, and it blazes. Both the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 3GS use an A4 processor, with the 3GS the measurably slower of the two older models. You may only notice that slowness if you’re frequently around folks using newer, faster iPhones, however.

Displays: The iPhone 4 and 4S use Apple’s Retina display, packing the screen so densely that your eye can’t make out the individual pixels; it’s a particularly impressive feature for apps written to take advantage of the Retina display. The 3GS’s display is less visually impressive, but still quite legible.
Voice Recognition: Only the iPhone 4S supports Siri, Apple’s virtual voice recognition-based assistant. Folks who use Siri quickly come to depend on it for quick tasks like scheduling reminders, setting appointments, checking the weather, and taking dictation. But the vast majority of iPhone owners have long relied on their fingers for those tasks without much difficulty, so you won’t suffer much without it.

Pick a phone, any phone
So, how do you choose? If you’re the kind of gadget hound who needs the latest and greatest Apple technology, well, then you probably didn’t just read this piece–the iPhone 4S is the only option that will satisfy you.

The $199 that separates the 16GB iPhone 4S from the 8GB iPhone 3GS could pay for somewhere between two and three months of cellular service for either phone. Whether paying extra cash for the increased storage, better cameras, additional features, and snappier performance is worth it is an entirely personal decision.

Some extra points to consider: You’ll sign a two-year contract when you order a new iPhone (unless you opt for much pricer unlocked versions of the iPhone you buy). You’ll never be able to upgrade your iPhone’s storage space size. But it’s quite likely Apple will offer another major iOS upgrade or two over the next two years, and there’s no guarantee that the already two-and-a-half-year-old iPhone 3GS will support any or all of the features of a hypothetical iOS 6; 2008′s iPhone 3G, for comparison’s sake, can’t run iOS 5.

Spending $99 for the iPhone 4 instead of taking the free 3GS may thus provide a better return on your investment, since you’re under contract with your carrier anyway. It’s a better phone in numerous respects, and will very likely be able to run at least one iteration of iOS that the 3GS cannot. Saving an extra $100 by eschewing the iPhone 4S today might make it easier to justify purchasing a hypothetical future iPhone once your new contract is up two years from now.

If, on the other hand, you’re considering a new point-and-shoot camera, or you’re apprehensive about your potential skills as a literal touch-typist, the extra $100 for the iPhone 4S may be worth it.

Regardless of which phone you choose, the good news is simple: You’ll end up with an iPhone, and that means you’ll have an excellent smartphone in your pocket.

What’s the difference between Opera Mini and Opera Mobile? With Opera Mini, the cost-saving compression is always turned on. There are computers located in cool locations such as Iceland that squeeze the webpages down before sending them in smaller (and thereby cheaper) packages to phones. This also enables less-capable feature phones to view full webpages, where the built-in browser can’t. Opera Mobile has cost-saving features too, but here one can turn them on and off, making the browser more like the Opera Turbo feature in an Opera desktop browser.

Learn more about Opera at www.opera.com.

By Chris Brandrick
September 14, 2011

SAN FRANCISCO – Another day passes and yet we still know nothing official about Apple’s next iPhone. So within the meantime, you may be looking at how you can freshen up the appearance of your current iPhone 4. Well, look no further! This nifty little mod adds a backlit logo to your iPhone 4, giving it a cool new look which is bound to turn some heads.

Created by iPatch, an iPod and iPhone repair specialist based in Leeds, UK, the funky mod changes the rear of an iPhone 4, altering it so the Apple logo lights up.

iPatch has detailed that the addition of a backlight behind the famous fruit logo will not add any depth to the case design of the iPhone–handy for those with tight fitting cases. The repair company also added that the light, which powers down when the smartphone is on standby, does not noticeably affect battery performance or cause any heating issues.
iPatch even revealed that if you fancy you can change the color of the Apple logo through the use of colour filters–anyone for a retro-style rainbow logo?

Sadly the unique hack, which illuminates in a similar fashion to that seen on MacBooks, is not currently available as it’s going through testing. However, when the mod is finally ready for sale it is expected that it will set you back between $80 – $160 (£50 – £100) to make the change.

iPatch have detailed that they should be ready to offer the modification in around a months time (mid-October), and the whole warranty-voiding process takes less than an hour to complete–of course, that’s if you live in Leeds. iPatch will take in iPhone’s from outside the UK, however that does mean shipping your device around the world for a little cosmetic surgery.

SAN FRANCISCO – So you’re thinking of jailbreaking your iOS device are you? The process of hacking your iDevice is simpler than ever but with so many different hardware, firmware, and software combinations out there, choosing the right jailbreak tool for your configuration for you can be a bit daunting if it’s your first time. Here’s a guide to picking the right tool for you.

Determine your hardware:

If you’re not sure what hardware model you have, read this guide for iPhone, or this one for iPod Touch. If you have an iPad, the iPad 2 has a front-facing camera, while the original iPad does not. Apple TV can also be jailbroken.
Determine your firmware:

To determine your iOS firmware, on your device, open the Settings app, then navigate to General; About; Version. Alternately, you can plug in your device to your computer and open iTunes. Your Software Version is listed under Summary.

Mac or PC?

Depending on if you sync your iDevice to a Mac or Windows PC, there are different tools available.

Tethered or Untethered?

The terms tethered or untethered jailbreaks refer to whether or not the hack will remain after a device reboot. In most cases, an untethered jailbreak is more desirable because you won’t need to re-hack your device in the event you switch it off and on. Certain hardware/firmware configurations only support a tethered jailbreak, however.

Choosing your jailbreak tool:

Now armed with the knowledge of your hardware and firmware configuration, you’re ready to choose a jailbreak tool! Here are my recommendations:

My device is…

•Any device (including iPad 2) running iOS 4.3-4.3.3 or iPhone 4 CDMA/Verizon running 4.2.6-4.2.8:

Use the browser-based JailbreakMe tool on your device itself by navigating mobile-Safari to jailbreakme.com.
•Any device except iPad 2 running 4.3.4-4.3.5 or iPhone 4 CDMA/Verizon running 4.2.9-4.2.10:

Download redsn0w for Mac OS X or Windows or PwnageTool for OS X. This is unfortunately a tethered jailbreak.
•Any device except iPad 2 running developer build up to iOS 5b6:

If you’re on a Mac, you can use redsn0w. If you’re on Windows somehow (odd, considering developers must use OS X to run Xcode), Sn0wbreeze works as well. This is a tethered jailbreak and generally not recommended.
•Apple TV (2nd Generation) running 4.3:

seas0npass lets you perform an untethered jailbreak to your Apple TV, allowing you to SSH into your set top box and play otherwise unsupported media.
•Any device/software not listed above:

Older, discontinued devices are pretty much all jailbreakable. JailbreakMe works on many older firmwares so it’s always worth trying but if that doesn’t work, PwnageTool for Mac and redsn0w for Mac/PC are your Swiss army knives of jailbreaking for older devices.

Something to add about jailbreaking? Use the Comments!

By Ben Camm-Jones
August 17, 2011

LONDON – Kingston has announced the Wi-Drive, a portable storage and file-management device for iOS.

The flash memory-based drive is aimed specifically at the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad and offers additional storage space and file-management features to owners of iOS devices.

To start off you can transfer files onto the Wi-Drive from your Mac or Windows PC via USB. You’ll then need to download the free Wi-Drive app from the App Store and once you have it installed you’ll be able to connect your iOS device to the Wi-Drive over Wi-Fi.

It comes with either 16GB or 32GB of storage space and up to three users can then wirelessly access the content stored on the Wi-Drive.

“Wi-Drive allows Apple device owners to wirelessly manage document and media files, and choose to share them with others, while on the go for work or pleasure,” said Krystian Jaroszynski, European Product Marketing Manager at Kingston.

“This unique functionality, combined with the durability of a Flash memory based device, will satisfy both casual users and the most discerning technophiles,” Jaroszynski continued.

The 16GB version is available from Cancom for £89 and the 32GB version costs £119 from the same supplier. It is also available through solutions inc., Square Group, Farpoint, Western Computer, MCC Group, Micro Anvika stores and online at Ebuyer.

By Ben Camm-Jones
August 17, 2011

LONDON – Apple has ordered 26 million iPhone 5s from suppliers to be delivered in the second half of 2011, it has been claimed.

Digitimes reports that Apple has ordered six million iPhone 5s for Q3 and 20 million for Q4, according to “Taiwan-based supply chain makers”.

Total iPhone shipments will reach 95 million for the year, with some 56 million in the second half alone. As well as the 26 million iPhone 5s, there will be 30 million shipments of the current models, the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4.

The report also states that component suppliers are likely to be put under pressure by Apple to lower prices, in particular touch-panel makers.

SAN FRANCISCO – An anonymous Hints reader was flummoxed: He (or she) used iTunes to sync pictures from iPhoto to his (or her) iPhone. But when he looked at the pictures on his phone, iPhoto Events didn’t appear in the order he wanted. As far as he could tell, neither iTunes nor the iPhone offered any option to change the phone’s photo-sorting behavior.

As the anonymous reader discovered, however, there is a solution–one that’s less obvious than it might appear at first. The iPhone will honor whichever sorting option you select within iPhoto. To change the sorting order there, launch iPhoto, select Events, and then choose View -> Sort Events. You can then sort Events by date (in chronological or reverse-chronological order), alphabetically by name, or in a manual order of your own creation.

But, wait, there’s more: If you switched to iTunes now, your photos still wouldn’t be in the order you wanted; they’d be out of order on your phone, too. You must first quit and relaunch iPhoto. Once you’ve done so, iTunes will notice the new sort order you’ve set for your Events. When you sync your iPhone this time, events will appear the way you want them to.

SAN FRANCISCO – Reader Michael Beaudoin is frustrated with an iPhone that has too much information on it. He writes:

I have an iPhone and MobileMe. When I sync iCal to MobileMe and my iPhone, I get duplicates (and sometimes triplicates) of items in my iPhone calendar. I have syncing to calendars in my Sync Preferences and in iTunes checked. I’ve tried various combinations of checking and unchecking but still get the duplicate entries.

Harkening back to a recent Mac 911 entry, allow me to reiterate that Apple’s syncing strategy needs a stern overhaul. When you throw MobileMe, Google, and iTunes syncing into the mix and aren’t aware of how they interact it’s easy to find yourself in this kind of situation. Let’s see if we can bring some clarity.
First, you’re in danger of getting duplicate items if you’ve switched on calendar syncing with both MobileMe and iTunes. To check, attach your iPhone to your Mac, select it in iTunes’ Source list, choose the Info tab, and peer at the Sync iCal Calendars entry. Look for these words:

Your calendars are being synced with MobileMe over the air. Your calendars will also sync directly with this computer. This may result in duplicated data showing on your device.

This is a very strong hint that you’re doing The Bad Thing and that you need to make a choice between syncing with your Mac or with MobileMe. You can disable calendar syncing within iTunes by unchecking the Sync iCal Calendars option. When you do, iTunes will offer to remove its calendar entries from your iPhone. Or, turn to your iPhone, choose Mail, Contacts, Calendars; select your MobileMe account; and flick the On/Off toggle switch next to the Calendars entry to Off. You’ll be offered the option to delete these calendar events from your iPhone.

(Still not sure what’s going on? Launch the Calendar app on your iPhone, tap the Calendars button in the top-left corner, and look at the headings on the resulting Calendars screen. If you see one entry for From My Mac and another that includes your MobileMe address–example@me.com, for instance–you’re duplicating your efforts.)

But suppose you have different events in the calendars you synced from your Mac and those that are synced via MobileMe and you’d like all of your events on the iPhone. What to do? Try this:

Attach your iPhone to your Mac and in the Info tab disable iCal syncing. When offered to keep or remove the calendars currently on the iPhone, choose to keep them and click the Apply button at the bottom of the window. Now move to your iPhone, choose Settings -> Mail, Contacts, Calendars and select your MobileMe account. Flick the On/Off toggle next to Calendars to Off. Again, you’ll be offered the choice to keep or delete your calendars. In this instance, delete them (don’t worry, they’re stored in the cloud). Now switch this Calendars toggle back on. In the sheet that appears, tap Merge.

What happens? The duplicate events currently stored on your iPhone (the ones synced from your Mac) and on MobileMe will be merged into a single event. Any additional events not found in your MobileMe calendar will be added to MobileMe.

Did I mention that Apple’s syncing strategy needs a stern overhaul? Let’s hope the iCloud rumors are true and we get exactly that.