iphones

Apple Maps in iOS 6: What you need to know (FAQ)

It's only been a day since iOS 6 went live, but the world has sounded with a Greek chorus of complaints over the new Maps app made by Apple.

In case you don't already know, iOS 6 makes a big change in your iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch's mapping features. It removes the Google Maps app that you've long used and replaces it with Apple's home-baked mapping service. At first, you may not notice the change since the app's icon, and much of the interface looks almost the same. Once you try to use … Read more

iPhone 5 begins its world tour in Australia

And they're off.

Throngs of people around the world are piling into Apple stores to claim the iPhone 5, promising to deliver a huge weekend for a device that has already seen record sales.

Apple said 2 million new iPhones were sold the day it became available for pre-order. Within 24 hours, shipping times slipped to two weeks for the device. Currently, the wait for a pre-ordered iPhone sits at 3 to 4 weeks.

Aussie siblings James and Tamsyn Vohradsky were said to be the first people in the world to purchase the new phone at retail.

Customer demand … Read more

Apple's Siri trounces Samsung's S Voice (hands-on)

I've updated this hands-on to reflect Siri's new tricks in iOS6; it originally posted June 21, 2012 comparing S Voice on the Galaxy S3 -- which is still current -- to Siri on iOS 5. If you're wondering, tomorrow I'll be comparing the updated Siri to Google Voice Actions.

Voice assistants like Siri, S Voice, Google Actions, and Microsoft's TellMe aren't new, but they are evolving into more mainstream features that can expedite results. S Voice, which launched this summer on the Samsung Galaxy S3, is Samsung's answer to Siri. That also makes … Read more

Aussie siblings become first to nab iPhone 5

The long-awaited Apple iPhone 5 has been launched in Australia, with a brother and sister duo becoming the first owners of the device in the world.

Because of its time zone, Australia was the first country to make the iPhone 5 available to consumers.

The queue outside the George Street Apple Store in Sydney began on Tuesday, and was mostly populated by those who were either paid to be there, or were advertising their various companies. By the morning of the launch today, the line had snaked its way around the block and then some.

Getting started with Passbook on iOS 6

Passbook is Apple's first foray into something that slightly resembles a mobile payment solution. Passbook is a new app included in iOS 6 that allows merchants to develop Passes to be stored in the user's Passbook.

With the release of iOS 6 only a few hours old, there aren't too many examples of apps that have incorporated Passbook into them, so I used this site to help me make some sample Passes just for this post.

When you launch Passbook for the first time, it will more than likely be empty. There will be a link that … Read more

With iOS 6, you can upload photos in Safari

Until iOS can fully replace your computer, it's going to have to gain a lot in terms of capabilities. Luckily, with each update to the operating system, more and more of those much-needed features are added. One such feature is the ability to upload photos to a Web site through Mobile Safari.

The process and workflow is identical to what you're used to when using a computer, but it's been adapted to iOS.

Using Tumblr as an example, when you want to upload a photo, tap on the Upload button and then select if you want to … Read more

Understanding Facebook integration on iOS 6

When Apple announced iOS 5 and the tight integration it would feature with Twitter, many people wondered about the conspicuous lack of Facebook integration. We still don't know why Facebook wasn't included in iOS 5, but it is included in iOS 6 and it works great.

In Settings, you'll find a listing for Facebook. Go there to start setting up Facebook's new integration with iOS. If you don't already have the Facebook iOS app installed on your device, you'll be able to download the app there.

You can then log in to Facebook directly … Read more

How to enable FaceTime over 3G with iOS 6

iOS 6 is here and with it is the capability to make FaceTime calls over a 3G (or 4G) connection. Finally! Up until now, iOS users were limited to using FaceTime over a Wi-Fi connection. No more.

FaceTime over 3G does have a couple of limitations. First, you'll need to be running iOS 6 on an iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, or the new iPad (third generation). Second, your carrier has to allow for FaceTime to be used over its network. So far, only AT&T has announced any type of restriction or requirement for FaceTime to work using … Read more

How to install iOS 6

If you didn't line up at your local Apple Store or preorder an iPhone 5, you can still upgrade your iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch to the latest version of iOS released today. I should say it's likely you can upgrade your current device because the new version of Apple's mobile operating system, iOS 6, is compatible with most but not all previous-generation devices. Here's Apple's list:

You have two methods for downloading and installing iOS 6. You can simply update your iOS device over the air via the device's Settings, or you can connect it to your computer and use iTunes.… Read more

How to send a message, set a reminder when declining a call on iOS 6

After you've updated your iPhone to iOS 6 you'll be able to politely decline an incoming call by sending the caller a message, or setting a reminder to call them back in a few hours. Let's take a look at how to use it, and how to set up custom messages.

When you get a call on iOS 6, you'll see a new phone icon at the bottom of the screen as your phone is ringing. You can slide up the phone, similar to sliding up the camera icon to take a picture from the lock … Read more