Mac Rumors - Mobile Edition - Mac Rumors On the Go

Concerns of iPhone 3GS Overheating and Discoloration Gaining Publicity

Thursday July 02, 2009 02:27 PM

Last week, Nowhere Else began receiving reports [Google translation] from owners of the white iPhone 3GS that had experience significant overheating, leading in some cases to distinct pink or brown discoloration on the iPhone's back case. A later report from Wired suggested that faulty battery cells may be the cause of the overheating and could lead to a significant recall of the affected iPhones.

Image from Nowhereelse.fr
A number of reports today have pointed to an Apple support document providing advice on how to keep iPhones from overheating as an acknowledgement of the problem on the part of Apple. As Macworld points out, however, the document was originally posted many months ago, and was recently updated only to add references to the iPhone 3GS to the existing ones for the iPhone 3G. According to the Apple document, an overheating iPhone will display a warning screen and become inoperable with the exception of allowing emergency phone calls to be made. Apple also describes several situations that can lead to activation of the temperature warning screen.

- Leaving the device in a car on a hot day.
- Leaving it in direct sunlight for extended amounts of time.
- Using certain applications in hot conditions or direct sunlight for long periods of time, such as GPS tracking in a car on a sunny day or listening to music while in direct sunlight.

While heat is definitely a concern for any electronic device, particularly ones like the iPhone that pack a significant amount of power into a small space, Apple assures its iPhone 3G and 3GS customers that the devices do meet international safety standards for such devices. At this time, Apple has made no official response to these latest reports of overheating and discoloration on the new iPhone 3GS.

[ 129 comments ]

More iPhone App Controversy with Alleged Underaged Nudity

Thursday July 02, 2009 02:23 PM

Wired reports on the latest high profile app removal from the App Store related to nudity. This time, a free app called BeautyMeter was removed due to an inappropriate image of a nude minor.

The photo ... depicts a photo of a nude girl snapping a photo of her reflection in a mirror. In the screenshot, the girl, who is listed as a 15-year-old from the United States

BeautyMeter is an app that functions similarly to Hot or Not and allows users to upload their own photos to be rated by others. The developers of the application do not review each uploaded photo, so there appears to be no particular filter for content. They do claim that each photo is tagged with each iPhone's unique ID so that illegal content can be traced back to the owner of the phone, however.

Apple has not commented, but the app has been pulled from the App Store. According a lawyer cited in the article, neither Apple nor the developers are likely liable for the content:

Funnymals and Apple will probably not be held liable for the content because they would be protected by the Communications Decency Act, according to Mark Rasch, a lawyer and founder of computer security consulting firm Secure IT Experts. That's because when Apple approved the app, it did not contain the prohibited content. Instead, the app downloads images off the internet, thus placing the responsibility on the people who use the app

[ 54 comments ]

Psystar Exits Bankruptcy, Launches New Xeon-Based Systems Running OS X

Thursday July 02, 2009 12:18 PM

Psystar, manufacturer of unauthorized Mac clones currently involved in a legal battle with Apple, reports that it has exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is again prepared to take on Apple. Psystar filed for bankruptcy just over one month ago.

As you all may already be aware in late May, Psystar filed for Chapter 11 protection. Although this was critical to our continued daily operations, we now are ready to emerge and again battle Goliath.

More information will be available in the coming days when we will be formally discharged by the Bankruptcy court.

When life gives you apples, make applesauce.

Psystar also announced the release of the Open(7), a new high-end system based on Intel's Nehalem Xeon platform. The new system is available in desktop and rackmountable models, with pricing for both versions beginning at $1499 with OS X Leopard preinstalled.

[ 258 comments ]

Haptic Feedback, Fingerprint Identification, and RFID Tag Readers in Future iPhones?

Thursday July 02, 2009 04:01 AM

Apple has let loose a number of revealing new patent applications that cover some interesting technologies that could be used in future iPhones.

Haptic Tactile Feedback

Perhaps most interesting amongst the patent applications is the acknowledgement by Apple that despite the many advantages of the iPhone's multi-touch screen, a lack of tactile feedback remains its biggest disadvantage:

However, one of a touchscreen's biggest advantages (i.e., the ability to utilize the same physical space for different functions) is also one of a touchscreen's biggest disadvantages. When the user is unable to view the display (because the user is occupied with other tasks), the user can only feel the smooth hard surface of the touchscreen, regardless of the shape, size and location of the virtual buttons and/or other display elements. This makes it difficult for users to find icons, hyperlinks, textboxes or other user-selectable input elements that are being displayed, if any are even being displayed, without looking at the display.
...
Unless touch input components are improved, users that, for example, drive a motor vehicle, may avoid devices that have a touch input component and favor those that have a plurality of physical input components (e.g., buttons, wheels, etc.).

The proposed solution is the adoption of "haptic" display technologies which allow for some tactile feedback from touch screen displays. Apple proposes including a grid of piezoelectronic actuators that can be activated on command. By fluctuating the frequency of these actuators, the user will "feel" different surfaces as their finger moves across it. As an example, a display could include a virtual click wheel which vibrates at a different frequency as the center. Users could easily sense the difference and use the click wheel without having to look at it.

Haptic technology has started gaining adoption in other mobile phones and there had been some talk that Apple might have been looking to adopt it.

Fingerprint Identification as an Input Method

A second very intriguing patent application suggests the detection of a user's individual fingerprints as an input method. Fingerprints have already been used in computers for security purposes, but Apple's research involves the use of fingerprint patterns to actually identify distinct fingers. This could then be used to produce specific functions depending on which finger is being used. As shown in the table below, an index finger press might perform one action (PLAY/STOP) while a middle finger press could fast forward.

The reason for such a distinction again falls back on non-visual usage. Instead of requiring the user to find a button on the touchscreen, the use of different fingers alone could trigger different commands.

RFID Reader

Finally, the last notable application covers the dual use of a touch screen as an RFID reader. RFID tags are small circuits that can be embedded in objects for identification using a special reader. Apple suggests that the an RFID antenna can be placed in the touch sensor panel itself, allowing it to also be used as a RFID reader. As RFID tags become more prevalent, this could add a very useful function to future touch screen devices.

[ 78 comments ]

Apple to Rate Your Karaoke Singing on Your iPhone?

Thursday July 02, 2009 03:33 AM

Apple has published a very interesting patent application in which they explore how to provide a Karaoke experience on the iPhone. Not only would users be able to sing along with their favorite songs, but Apple wants to give real-time feedback to singers letting them know how they are doing.

The systems and methods for providing users with real-time feedback while they are singing on key/pitch and providing real-time feedback to the user while the karaoke song is being sung. The feedback will be positive feedback if user is on key/pitch and it will be negative feedback if user is off key/pitch.

The patent application addresses "one of the biggest obstacles faced by amateur sings: singing on key/pitch". Apple suggests that this system could actually improve the quality of people's singing. One novel way to accomplish this would be to measure the pitch of the singer's voice and if it were to be too low, the device could exaggerate the low pitch of the user's own voice to encourage them to sing higher.

Apple clearly depicts pictures of the iPhone's iPod application with an additional menu option for "Karaoke". The interface for the Karaoke section is also shown above. We don't know if Apple will pursue this option in a future version of the iPhone software, but it's a fun and interesting proposition.

[ 51 comments ]

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