JaypeeOnline » Apple-iPhone

Twitter Trends 2010: Top Tweets of the Year

Jaypee Habaradas — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 21:53:50 +0000

Earlier today, Twitter released its Top 10 Twitter Trends of 2010. In order to identify the top trends of the year, the Twitter team analyzed a staggering 25 billion Tweets – the total number of Tweets sent this year. Additional data was taken from the top categories: News Events, People, Movies, Television, Technology, World Cup, Sports and Hashtags. Each trend that made it to the Top 10 list is not determined by a keyword(s) but includes multiple related terms, in order to show a more accurate view of the most popular topics that users talked about in 2010.

These Trends indicate the things that are most meaningful in our lives. Each day on Twitter, people tweet about news, sports, entertainment and cool new technology–and everything else in between. The list of 2010 Twitter Trends reflects what’s happening in our world, demonstrates the power of turning any event or story into a shared experience, and underscores Twitter’s value as a real-time information network.

Top 10 Twitter Trends of 2010

Gulf Oil Spill
FIFA World Cup
Inception
Haiti Earthquake
Vuvuzela
Apple iPad
Google Android
Justin Bieber
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows
Pulpo Paul

Just like in Yahoo’s Top 10 Searches for 2010, the BP Gulf Oil Spill is the most popular topic/trend in Twitter’s Top 10 Twitter Trends for 2010. It’s surprising to see Inception take the #3 spot and be ahead of the Haiti Earthquake, the Apple iPad or even Justin Bieber. Its also interesting to see Pulpo Paul aka Paul the Octopus making it to the Top 10.

Btw, I’ll also be publishing the Google Zeitgeist 2010 later today which features the top searches according to Google Search.

For those of you who are on Twitter, which of these topics/trends did you Tweet about the most this year? The BP Gulf Oil Spill? The Apple iPad? Google Android? The Haiti Earthquake? Please share your thoughts.

HowTo: Disable Photo Geotagging on iPhone

Jaypee Habaradas — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 08:22:26 +0000

Came across an article in the NY Times a while back about how Adam Savage, one of the hosts of the popular science tv show “MythBusters” revealed the actual location of his house by posting a picture of his Toyota Land Cruiser on Twitter. How did it happen? Because of the geotag information embedded in the image that he posted online, which contains the longitude and latitude of where the photo was snapped.

Alot of people these days use GPS-equipped smartphones and digital cameras to take photos/videos and don’t know anything about geotags. They are not aware that they can compromise their privacy or even safety when they post these geotagged photos and/or videos online. In the case of Adam Savage, he was aware about geotags but failed to disable it on his iPhone before he took the photo and uploaded it to Twitter.

If you own an iPhone and you’re concerned about your privacy and safety, then you need to disable geotagging on the Camera app. Today, I’ll share with you a step-by-step process on how to disable the geotagging function on the iPhone Camera app.

For iPhones running iOS 3.x
There are two ways to disable geotagging on iPhones running iOS 3.x

WARNING: Procedure #1 turns off ALL location based services for ALL applications. So if you’re using an app that uses location based services like Google Maps or social networks like Facebook, Gowalla or Foursquare then skip to procedure #2.

Procedure #1
1. Go to Settings > General

2. Switch Locations Services to OFF.

NOTE: Procedure #2 will reset ALL location warnings so you’ll have to reconfigure all apps using location based services.

Procedure #2
1. Go to Settings > General > Reset.

2. Select Reset Location Warnings.

*Be careful and make sure that you select “Reset Location Warnings” before proceeding to the next step.

3. Click on Reset Warnings

This procedure restores all Location based warnings to the app’s default setting which is usually “Ask on first use“. Next thing to do is, start up the Camera app on your iPhone and when prompted click on “Don’t Allow“. This will keep the Camera app from geotagging your photos and videos.

For iPhones running iOS 4.x
1. Go to Settings > General > Location Services.
2. Look for Camera and make sure that it’s turned OFF.

That’s it. Now all photos and videos you take using the Camera app on your iPhone will not contain geotag information that can compromise your privacy or safety. This tutorial also works for other applications, not only for the Camera app. Follow Procedure #2 and once you’re reset the Location Warnings, just choose which apps you’ll allow or not. iOS 4.x users please refer to instruction above and just select the specific app/s that you want to disable.

In case you change your mind and decide to enable the geotagging feature for the Camera app, just repeat the steps listed above but this time do the opposite – turn ON the Location Services and Allow the Camera app.

If you’re not sure whether your smartphone or digital camera is GPS-equipped or not, you can check the user manual, manufacturer’s website or via Google Search. Also, if you choose to keep the geotag function on your iPhone or any smartphone/digital camera, play safe and be careful what photos you post online. Thieves and online predators are getting smarter and are also using technology for their own agendas.

iPod Touch + Apple Peel 520 = iPhone

Jaypee Habaradas — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 01:55:24 +0000

Ever wanted to have an iPhone but you’re stuck with an iPod Touch? I know you can use VoIP on the iPod Touch but what happens when you don’t have a WiFi access? With about $60, you can turn your iPod Touch into an iPhone. How? With the help of an Infineon baseband chip-powered adapter case called the Apple Peel 520 and a regular SIM card, you can now make voice calls and send text messages with your iPod Touch. Aside from that, the Apple Peel 520 also works as a 800mAh battery, adding 4.5 hours of call time or 120 hours of standby power to the device.

Product Photos:

The Apple Peel 520 retails for about US$57 and includes a 1-year warranty. iPod Touch owners who plan to purchase this adapter case would be glad to know that it supports or is compatible with all generations of the iPod Touch. The only requirement before you can the Apple Peel 520 is that the iPod Touch has to be jailbroken.

I’m pretty sure a lot of iPod Touch owners would buy one once it becomes available in their location. What makes the Apple Peel 520 great is that it allows users who only need to make voice calls and send text messages to save money because all they need is a regular SIM card and a regular phone plan, no monthly data plan fees to worry about. The Apple Peel 520 is not officially available yet but customers in China can pre-order it from the Taobao online store and deposit US$15.

Users will experience a few issues/problems using the Apple Peel 520 like a short delay on voice calls, incoming phone numbers and contacts may not appear or “blank” messages for missed calls reminders and some issues with the SMS feature like SMS text is smaller than the text on the iPhone or you can’t delete or forward a text message. I know most users won’t mind these issues as long as they can use their iPod Touch like a regular cellphone.

Btw, I found out earlier from Engadget, that there’s another product that offers the same type of features and functionality called the tPhone. It has a bigger battery capacity – 1,200mAh, but is more expensive at about $100.

For a more detailed review and demo video of the Apple Peel 520, check out the post by M.I.C Gadget

[image source: PConline]

HowTo: Unlock iPhone 4 Using Ultrasn0w

Jaypee Habaradas — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 22:31:36 +0000

The iPhone Dev-Team recently released a new version of their carrier unlocking tool called Ultrasn0w for US based iPhone users who have the problem of being stuck with one network – AT&T. The latest version, Ultrasn0w 1.0-1 can perform a carrier unlock on iPhone 4 units running iOS 4.0.1 with a 01.59.00 baseband. It also works on iPhone 3G/3GS units running iOS 4.0.1 with the following basebands – 04.26.08, 05.11.07, 05.12.01 and 05.13.04. With this tool, US users can unlock their iPhone and use it on a different network like T-Mobile.

NOTE: Make sure that you backup your iPhone before doing a jailbreak or unlock. You can do this by syncing your iPhone to iTunes. iTunes automatically creates a backup of your iPhone when you sync, which you can use later on to restore your iPhone in case something goes wrong or if you simply want to return to a previously backed-up state.

This procedure requires the iPhone to be jailbroken and requires the latest version of Ultrasn0w which is Ultrasn0w 1.0-1. If you’re iPhone is not yet jailbroken, you can do it by opening Safari and visiting JailbreakMe 2.0 Star which is a browser-based jailbreak. JailbreakMe 2.0 requires firmware 3.1.2+ and less than firmware 4.1. Check out this post for a more detailed instruction on how to jailbreak an iPhone using JailbreakMe 2.0 Star.

Once your iPhone is jailbroken, you can now proceed to unlocking it. Below is a video by TechManTV which shows a step-by-step process on how to unlock an iPhone 4 with iOS 4.0.1 using Ultrasn0w 1.0-1.

If you’re having a hard time following the instructions in the video, you can visit Redmond Pie’s post which provides a more detailed step-by-step process on how to unlock your iPhone 4 iOS 4.0.1 with Ultrasn0w 1.0-1.

Before performing a jailbreak and/or unlock on their iPhone, there are several things users should take note or consider. First, jailbreaking and unlocking methods can void your iPhone’s warranty and violate Apple’s Apple iPhone Software License Agreement. Second, jailbreaking an iPhone means the user can’t update to the latest iOS firmware update (without losing the jailbreak) until a new jailbreak has been released.

Although I’ve been thinking about doing it, I personally haven’t tried jailbreaking or unlocking my iPhone 3GS so I can’t recommend it to everyone. But if you’re not worried about voiding your warranty, if your warranty is over or you’re the type of person who’s brave enough to try these kinds of things, then go ahead and try it. Jailbreaking and unlocking an iPhone enables the user to do more things and opens up more features on the device. Just make sure that you read and follow instructions carefully and always backup your iPhone before performing a jailbreak or unlock procedure.

Anyone here tried unlocking their iPhone 4 using Ultrasn0w 1.0-1? How about trying jailbreaking or unlocking an iPhone in general? What have been your experience with jailbreaking and unlocking the iPhone? Please share your thoughts.

[image source: Redmond Pie / video source: TechManTV]

Antenn-aid – Joke Turned Business

Jaypee Habaradas — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 20:04:35 +0000

So far, Apple has sold more than 3 million units of the iPhone 4 and from the looks of it, they would continue to sell more in months to come inspite of the antenna problem that many users are experiencing and complaining about. To address the “antenna problem”, Steve Jobs announced during the recent iPhone 4 conference that Apple will provide free cases or bumpers (worth $25) to iPhone 4 users and refunds to those who previously bought them.

Two designers from Brooklyn, Szymon Weglarski and Jon Dorfman came up with an idea to make fun of iPhone 4′s antenna problem. They created the Antenn-aid – a tiny bandage that looks exactly like a regular Band-Aid strip that’s designed to perfectly fit around the edge of the iPhone 4 and cover the sensitive spot, preventing the infamous “death grip“.

The creators of Antenn-aid opened a store at online marketplace, Etsy for their new product last week and now, they are trying to keep up with all the orders they’re getting. The Antenn-aids were first sold individually, which was a inefficient so Weglarski and Dorfman decided to sell them in a 6-pack (assorted colors) for $5 + shipping.

According to the creators, they haven’t done any official testing of the Antenn-aid on the iPhone 4 but the demand shows that it works and that it solves or improves the iPhone 4 antenna problem. Otherwise, no one would be buying them. There’s nothing special to the Antenn-aid, its just a regular sticker but it does the job. These guys started out with a joke and now have a full time business or until Apple does something drastic to fix the antenna problem.

Get your Antenn-aid here

[via The NY Times]