iPhone Atlas

Apple frequently touts the number of applications available to iOS users, which now sits north of 350,000. But that number could be in danger of coming in second place to rival Google in just a few months time.

In a new report by market research firm Distimo for the last month of activity on Apple's various App Stores, the BlackBerry App World, GetJar, Google's Android Market, Nokia's Ovi Store, Palm's App Catalog, and Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 Marketplace, the group found Google and Microsoft's efforts to be growing the fastest.

"If all … Read more

Videos demonstrating what appears to be an early development version of a white iPhone 4, as well as a version of iOS with multitasking and search features that differ from existing models, has cropped up on the Web today, showing hints of directions Apple could have taken, or might yet take with its features.

The two videos come from Vietnamese site Tinhte, which is the same outlet that got a hold of the iPhone 4 ahead of its official announcement. Engadget picked up on them this morning, noting that the phone is running a build of iOS aimed at testing … Read more

This morning Apple released iOS 4.3.2, a build that promises to fix a bug that caused video to go blank or become frozen during FaceTime calls, as well another bug that kept some international iPad users with 3G models from connecting to local cellular networks. The new release also contains the latest security updates.

The software is compatible with the GSM model of the iPhone 4, the iPhone 3GS, both generations of the iPad, and the third and fourth generations of the iPod Touch. Customers with Verizon iPhone 4s are receiving a different update dubbed 4.2.7, … Read more

When Amazon launched its Cloud Drive and Cloud Player, only Android users celebrated the ability to stream, download, and edit their cloud music on the go. iOS users groaned and quickly found workarounds, but there's still no graceful way for iPhone, iPad, or iPod users to stream music from their Amazon cloud.

Right now, the only way for iOS users to stream music from Cloud Player is by manually selecting songs one-by-one--that is, there's no skipping, shuffling, or repeat options. But if you suddenly crave "Don't Stop Believin'" while waiting for the bus, and it happens to be stored in your Amazon Cloud Drive, I'll show you how to use Amazon Cloud Player with an iOS device (in the video below).

While this is a new endeavor for Amazon, other cloud storage and streaming services, like Dropbox and Sugarsync, figured this out years ago. What's more, the services offer dedicated iOS apps, letting you stream music you've stored in your personal cloud. Check out the video below to learn how to store and stream music in the cloud to your iOS device.

… Read more

A small number of FaceTime users have complained of a "creepy" glitch with Apple's FaceTime video-conferencing platform.

According to a posting on the Apple discussion forums, iPhone users are seeing photos of themselves that they claim they had never taken show up on FaceTime when they try to place a video call to another user. One person said that her boyfriend saw a picture of himself at work displayed in FaceTime, even though he has never used the service in the office.

"When one of us is calling the other via FaceTime, an old picture freezes on our screen, while the person receiving the call only sees a black screen," a person using the name "kar0786" wrote on Apple's discussion forums. "It's kind of creepy, because it brought up photos of both of us at work, where I have used FaceTime a few times but he never has."

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, in my tests with the two iPhone 4s in my home, I wasn't able to replicate the issue some users report having.… Read more

iOS 4.3 could be getting another point release update within the next two weeks.

That's according to a story today from Boy Genius Report, citing a source who said that iOS 4.3.1, which is currently available on a number of Apple's more recent iOS devices (short of the Verizon iPhone), will be succeeded by 4.3.2.

Before you get too excited, the report says the update squashes some bugs and security holes, as well as "a few enhancements." This should come as no surprise given that Apple tends to keep major changes, … Read more

The cat-and-mouse game between Apple and the iOS hacking community is still afoot, with the recent release of an update to a tool that allows users to gain low-level system access and install unapproved third-party applications on iOS devices.

The iPhone Dev Team (not to be confused with Apple's own team that develops iOS), has released the latest version of its PwnageTool and RedSn0w tools, both of which let people jailbreak their iOS devices. The big news with this one is that it's "untethered," which means people don't have to worry about having to re-do … Read more

If you are a jailbreak fan, there's finally some good news coming from the untethered jailbreak camp, led by the hackers at the Dev Team--an untethered jailbreak is running iOS 4.3 in beta.

According to iPhone Download Blog, hacker Stefan Esser (@iOn1c) has come up with a solution, posting a tweet saying: "The iphone-dev-team is already beta-testing the untether. So it is up to them to give you your tool of choice."

Certainly if the Dev Team is running an untethered jailbreak solution for iOS 4.3, we can expect something soon. In the three weeks since the iOS 4.3 (and iPad 2) release, there hasn't been much exciting news coming from the jailbreak community. Until now, that is.

To back it up, renowned hacker MuscleNerd tweeted: "well @iOn1c's untether is solid! Just working out overall 4.3.x JB issues and Cydia :)"

There's still no official word on when the untethered jailbreak might be available, but signs are pointing to soon.

Will you jailbreak your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch? Let me know in the comments!… Read more

Some users have been experiencing issues when attempting to back up their iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, especially when installing iOS updates like 4.3.1. Mac OS X Hints user renaultssoftware describes the issue:

"It was giving me 2 errors: 'Couldn't retrieve profile from Sync Services--unplug and replug iPhone' and 'Couldn't backup iPhone.' Having restarted, and unplugged/replugged the iPhone, it still wouldn't back up, or even update to iOS 4.3.1. The situation was very vexing."

Users on Apple's Support Discussions forums are finding other backup issues with their iOS device. … Read more