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Is this budget iPhone leak a ruse to flog a cheap Android knock-off?

There seems to be little doubt now that Apple intends to launch a more affordable iteration of its iPhone handset, but, as the old saying goes; seeing is believing.

Well, after months of speculation and purported plastic cases leaking out into the wild, one tech site claims to have got some hands-on time with the finished article and posted pics and video as supposed proof.

The Techdy blog has showcased an extensive gallery of a white handset with a polycarbonate shell, bearing the Apple logo and a well-polished video claiming to showcase the device in all its glory.

The site doesn't say how it got hold of the device, which features a thinner-than-usual bezel, lightning port, but there's enough in the text to warrant a healthy dose of cynicism.

Marketing ploy?

Later in the post, written by the editor of the M.I.C gadget blog, readers are invited to check out and buy the 'Basic Bear,' an Android phone 'inspired by the design' of the so-called budget iPhone.

Hmmm.

Regardless of the validity of the leak, the photos and video (which can be viewed here) offer an interesting interpretation of what the cheaper iPhone may look like if and when Apple launches the device.

Will the budget iPhone come in all the colours of the rainbow? One leak suggests so.

Tutorial: How to free up space on your iOS device

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Computers used to be all about expandability. Essentially you owned a box that could be tailored to your needs as your requirements evolved. A popular upgrade path was storage, adding new hard drives as your files grew in size and number. But with Apple's touchscreen revolution, everything changed.

The iPhone, iPad and iPod touch are more like appliances than 'traditional' computers - they're sealed boxes that forever remain as they were the moment you purchased them. You can no more extend their storage capabilities than you can add a new compartment to your fridge-freezer.

Why Apple is showing PCs the way again

A quick look at Apple's modern hardware suggests its entire line-up is heading in the same direction, but iOS devices are more restricted than Apple's desktops and notebooks. After all, if you need more storage for a MacBook Air, you at least have the option of offloading large documents to an external hard drive (and, of course, then sensibly backing up that data along with the internal drive's, either locally or to an online service such as CrashPlan).

But iOS devices aren't designed that way. They don't have a USB port or a user-accessible file structure. The intention is that you store everything on the device itself (well, almost everything - services like iTunes Match enable you to grab your music from the cloud).

Therefore, an important tip when it comes to better iOS device storage and management comes at the moment of purchase: buy the model with the most storage that you can afford, unless you're absolutely convinced you won't need it.

Even then, reconsider; be mindful that as technology evolves, demands for storage increase. Retina screens require larger applications, and iOS cameras can shoot HD video, which requires a huge amount of space.

OS X 10.9 Mavericks release date, news and features

Also, demands on iOS devices are increasing purely on the basis of what they can now do. People frequently shoot and edit video, work with photography, read magazines and compose music on iPads and iPhones. All these things require lots of storage.

If your device gets really full, it alerts you. Also, things stop working. You won't be able to install new apps or shoot video new footage. You may find that updating apps becomes problematic, because the device doesn't have enough space to download, unpack and install updates before deleting older versions.

We offer advice for dealing with such a situation, along with managing iOS storage in general. Note that this isn't intended as a start-to-finish walkthrough, more a series of ideas that can be utilised to free up space.

As ever, we should stress the importance of back-ups before making major changes to iOS devices. Even if you're backing up to iCloud, make the occasional local back-up (select your device in iTunes and click 'Back Up Now' on the Summary page).

Local backups are also useful when it comes to dealing with app data, because you can later use iExplorer to fish out settings and other documents from such a backup, even if those things have long been removed from your device. Also ensure before making any major changes in terms of deleting content that you don't only have said content on your iOS device.

For music, sync your device with iTunes to transfer tracks to your Mac (although you can grab previous purchases from iTunes, if necessary). For photos and movies, transfer them across by attaching your device to your Mac via USB, launching iPhoto, selecting the device and clicking the Import button.

How to manage iOS device storage

1. Check device capacity in iTunes

Device capacity

Although iOS devices no longer require iTunes, Apple's desktop app remains useful from a device management standpoint. Connect your device (via USB or over Wi-Fi) and select it from the Devices button. Across the bottom of the window, you see a chart detailing what's taking up room: audio, photos, apps, books and 'other'.

If storage is an issue, you could free some up. For example, if you've lots of music or photos on your device, select the relevant tab, uncheck the sync box and then sync your device. The relevant media is removed. You can then perform updates and manage your apps, perhaps free up more space, and later restore your media by resyncing it.

Occasionally, you might find the 'other' section becomes massive. In our experience, this is usually down to you having a lot of in-app data (see Step 3) or failed app updates, which can happen on trying to update without enough free space. Resyncing should help; if not, a restore from a local backup.

2. Discover app sizes

App sizes

Apps can be massive. Sizes are shown in iTunes and the App Store, but that's the size of the compressed download. Once installed, an app's size can balloon.

In iTunes, check app sizes by clicking on the Apps tab and selecting Sort by Size from the pop-up menu at the top of the apps list. Peruse the list, and if there are apps or games you no longer use, consider deleting them. You can do so by clicking Remove in iTunes; when you've done so for all apps you'd like to delete, click Sync.

Alternatively, tap-hold an app on your device to make all the icons jiggle and, for each, tap the cross icon and then 'Delete' to remove it.

3. Examine app data

iPad memory

Open the Settings app on your device and in the General category, select Usage. You see available and used storage and a list of apps. These are ordered by the total amount of space they require, including app data.

Newsstand and similar apps tend to be storage-hungry. Their containers might be small, but the actual magazines rarely are. If you want to see how much space an app's data is using, tap the app in the list and look at the Documents & Data figure.

If you've several such apps taking up loads of room you need, consider deleting data. For example, if you subscribe to magazines, delete old issues from within each app. You can usually redownload issues later if you need to. If you fancy taking a speedy option and don't have a capped broadband connection, deleting a Newsstand app takes all its data with it. You can then download a fresh copy from the App Store and the latest issue.

Magazine and book apps aren't the only storage culprits, note. Dropbox can (optionally) store documents locally (by flagging them as favourites) and some video apps have download capability, so check those too.

4. Back-up app content

Should you no longer use a game or creative app, but think you might one day return to it, download its data to your Mac using the free version of iExplorer (macroplant.com/iexplorer).

Connect your device to your Mac via USB, select Apps from iExplorer's sidebar and select the app in question. Select the Documents and Library folders, Ctrl-click and select Export to Folder. (Alternatively drag them to a Finder folder.)

The contents of these folders can later be sideloaded into a fresh install of the app, meaning you won't lose your progress in a game that doesn't support iCloud, or could get saved compositions from a music-app back to your device with a minimum of fuss.

5. Use last-chance folders

If you tend to frequently download new apps, chances are some fall out of favour, but you might not necessarily know which. Create date-based folders (07-2013, say) and place apps within that you don't think you use any more. If you find yourself using one, 'rescue' it from the folder. Otherwise, delete the folder's contents after a few months, first backing up app data as necessary.

(Note: if you don't download apps to iTunes on your Mac, sync with it before deleting the apps, so you've a back-up you can later install to your device. You can of course redownload apps from the App Store, but only if they are still made available to you.)

This is a fairly ruthless app-management method, but it's useful for keeping installs current and ensuring you have space.

Updated: OS X 10.9 Mavericks release date, news and features

Posted:

Apple has revealed the latest refresh of its desktop operating system - OS X 10.9. The new OS looks to add further integration with the company's mobile operating system iOS.

The release - dubbed OS X Mavericks - brings over 200 new features over and above the features in OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion.

Explaining the thinking behind the name change, Apple's Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi joked that the company had ran out of cat names, and decided to turn to "our backyard", Apple's home of California, for its next round of names.

FutTv : 7AU7Bjim5yzce

OS X 10.9 release date

Speaking at WWDC 2013, Federighi confirmed that Maverick will be available in Autumn. That confirms our prior prediction.

OS X Mavericks price

Previous releases of OS X have been quite cheap and Mountain Lion was even cheaper at GBP £14, USD $20, AUD $21. We're expecting the OS X 10.9 price to be similar.

OS X 10.9 multi-monitor support

The previous major release of OS X, Mountain Lion, was largely a hit, boosting the system's feature set and security. More than three million people downloaded the OS during its first four days on sale.

However, it also mangled some iOS features into the mix that didn't work terribly well, such as iCloud documents, and a sub-standard full-screen mode, which Apple looks to have fixed by baking multi-monitor support into Mavericks.

The update now makes the dock and menu bar follow the user on whatever screen they're working on, and each display can be shown independently. The new OS has also added the ability for desktop activity to be wirelessly beamed to a HDTV via an Apple TV box and Airplay.

OS X 10.9 performance

Apple claims the latest version of OS X has made several tweaks under the hood to improve performance the energy efficiency and responsiveness of Macs. This includes grouping together "low-level operations", which the company says allows the CPU to spend more time in a low-power state.

This has been twinned with two new features, the first being "App Nap", which reduces the power consumed by apps that aren't in use. The second, "Compressed Memory", makes Mavericks automatically compress inactive data until it's needed again, at which point it's instantly uncompressed.

OS X Mavericks Finder

Other features making an appearance in the latest version of OS X include Finder Tabs, which positions a plus symbol to the top right of Finder that allows new tabs to be opened or dragged into other positions, with similar behaviour to a web browser. Users can customise views for individual tabs, move files between tabs, and run the Finder with multiple tabs open in full-screen.

Tags have also made an appearance in Maverick, which appear in the Finder Sidebar to enable users to view files by project or category. They can be added to files or folders within Finder or iCloud to simplify locating documents.

OS X Safari

Apple has also made several tweaks to Safari, claiming that the browser has smoother scrolling, is nippier than before, and outperforms its rivals in energy efficiency, memory efficiency and JavaScript performance. It now uses what Apple describes as a "new process-per tab architecture", which it claims makes Safari more responsive, stable and secure.

Another new feature dubbed iCloud keychain stores login information, Wifi password, and credit card details within Safari for users' convenience when making purchases online

Additionally, the browser now houses a new quick launch screen with a column for bookmarks, which can be reordered using drag and drop. It has also received a hefty dollop of social love in the form of "shared links", which collects URLs posted by Twitter and LinkedIn contacts to display them in a single stream in Safari's sidebar.

iOS X Mavericks Maps and iBooks

Two apps from iOS, Maps and iBooks, have made their way to Mavericks. Maps includes features such as interactive flyover data, vector graphics, and 3D views. It also provides the ability to send map coordinates to iPhones with a button push for voice navigation on the move.

Maps now integrates with OS X's Calendar app too, giving users the ability to look up travel times between two locations to prevent them from scheduling anything in that period. Users don't have to go directly to the Maps app for such navigational wizardry either, as Apple has integrated maps into Mail, Contacts and Calendar. Developers can do the same with their own apps using the Map Kit API.

Meanwhile, Apple has brought iBooks and its 1.8 million titles to the desktop, including any books users have previously purchased. The company gave an interactive demonstration of iBooks' new features at WWDC, which include zooming in, changing font sizes, and adding annotations. Seamless integration across iPhones and iPads means users can pick up books where they left off too.

OS X Mavericks notifications

Notifications were a welcome addition when they were introduced in Mountain Lion last year. This year, they have been beefed up with advanced capabilities that let users do anything from replying to messages or answering FaceTime calls from directly within the notification.

Handily, Apple has also made it so that iOS notifications sync with OS X, meaning users can check alerts sent to a Mac or mobile device, and vice versa.

Curious to know what we wanted to see in OS X 10.9 before today's event? Read on for our wishlist that we first posted earlier this year.

1. iBooks and Newsstand for OS X

OS X Mountain Lion was largely about bringing relevant features from iOS to the Mac, but Apple should go further. It's bizarre that both of Apple's major iOS apps for reading are not available on the Mac.

With OS X 10.9, Apple should release both iBooks and Newsstand for OS X, enabling you to read your favourite books and magazines on any Apple device, rather than restricting them to the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.

OS X 10.9: what we want to see

2. Siri for OS X

Although Siri's not quite the revolutionary feature that was once promised, it nonetheless continues to improve. It's now finally useful outside of the USA, and once you've trained it to your voice, Siri can be used to rapidly speed up many tasks.

OS X already has plenty of built-in accessibility clout, and a number of different playback voices, and so it seems like a no-brainer to integrate Siri into the system.

3. Maps for OS X

When it first arrived on iOS, Apple Maps was rightly slammed, not least for its boneheaded assumptions when it came to directions. But the service continues to improve and is great for turn-by-turn.

On the Mac, it would be less useful, but we'd nonetheless like to see it, not least for researching and planning routes and journeys that could subsequently (along with favourite places) seamlessly sync to your iOS devices via iCloud.

OS X 10.9: what we want to see

4. A more usable Contacts app

People bang on about skeuomorphism in OS X, and also confuse it with texture-oriented graphic design, which isn't really the same thing. In many cases, these approaches also happen to be a matter of taste (Calendar's leather, for example), but in Contacts, Apple's created a usability disaster.

Half-way house between digital book and app, Contacts is just a mess. We hope whatever Jonathan Ive brings to the OS X 10.9 party in terms of human interface leadership, it includes a firm emphasis on usability and not merely a hankering for minimalism. (More attention to detail regarding bugs would also be nice — Game Center remains an ugly, unusable, broken mess on OS X and needs some serious help.)

OS X 10.9: what we want to see

5. An enhanced Finder

Finder remains a straightforward way to get at your files, and recent updates have improved inline previews. However, we'd still like to see changes. For power users, the addition of tabs would be great to cut down on clutter; and for everyone, an emphasis on speed and performance would be welcome.

Spotlight could also do with a kick up the bottom speed-wise, which would improve Finder window searches, the standalone Spotlight menu and any app it's integrated into (such as Mail).

6. A broken-up iTunes

On iOS, iTunes is just a shop. Individual apps take care of other things: Music and Videos for media playback, App Store for buying apps, Podcasts for playing podcasts, and so on.

The mess that is iTunes for OS X could benefit from a similar approach, although with the app also having to exist for Windows, we doubt this is a wish on our list that Apple will ever fulfil.

7. Better window management

Window management on Mac OS and OS X has always been weak and Windows zoomed past with Aero Snap and related features. Third-party utilities exist on OS X for managing windows, but Apple appears hostile towards them.

Really, it should enable you to more easily and rapidly place windows side-by-side and in other common layouts, rather than making you move/drag/move/drag like it's 1984.

OS X 10.9: what we want to see

8. Improved iCloud document management

Apple's iCloud still seems very much like a work-in-progress, with the company feeling its way regarding what the system can do. In terms of document management, it's great for people working on their own and who produce relatively few files.

For anyone else, it's problematic at best - OS X 10.9 really needs to improve filing, sharing and collaboration regarding this aspect of iCloud.

OS X 10.9: what we want to see

9. Interface improvements

It's possible to argue all day about the direction in which Apple's interface should head, but two major widespread problems are apparent that really need fixing. First, Apple's infatuation with desaturation needs to end - people use colour to navigate and spot things, and that's now a problem in some apps (notably Finder and iPhoto sidebars).

Secondly, the company must address scalability. What works on an iPad and just about works on a MacBook Air frequently looks ridiculous on an iMac, such as full-screen apps with acres of space, sickness-inducing animated transitions, and the Fisher-Price-style Launchpad.

10. More cross-device intelligence

Our final wish is that Apple's operating systems would be a little more intelligent when it comes to cross-device purchases. In some cases, Apple gets it right: buy a song and you can (optionally) have it sent to all your Apple kit; buy an app on your iPhone and it'll download in iTunes and be sent to your iPad.

Great. But why can't we browse the Mac App Store (which, after all, is simply a web browser wrapper) on an iPad, buy an app and have it waiting on a Mac the next time we use it? It's almost like Apple doesn't really want us using a Mac any more, once we're comfy with an iPad…

Yahuui Blog

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Apple : Is this budget iPhone leak a ruse to flog a cheap Android knock-off?

Apple : Is this budget iPhone leak a ruse to flog a cheap Android knock-off?

Marketing ploy?

How to manage iOS device storage

OS X 10.9 release date

OS X Mavericks price

OS X 10.9 multi-monitor support

OS X 10.9 performance

OS X Mavericks Finder

OS X Safari

iOS X Mavericks Maps and iBooks

OS X Mavericks notifications

1. iBooks and Newsstand for OS X

2. Siri for OS X

3. Maps for OS X

4. A more usable Contacts app

5. An enhanced Finder

6. A broken-up iTunes

7. Better window management

8. Improved iCloud document management

9. Interface improvements

10. More cross-device intelligence

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