My own thoughts are that I want the mute switch to mute everything. If I switch sound off, I want no sounds at all to be made with just a single exception to Find My iPhone and setting it to beep remotely in case I want to track it down when lost.

To get around this, perhaps the image above could shed some light on a possible solution. Just like the iPad has a switch that can act as mute or lock rotation, could the iPhone give an option to Mute All or Mute Selected items like it does now? It seems easy enough for Apple to implement and wouldn’t take away from user experience. When selecting Mute All, a pop-up message could be displayed that reminds you that alarms will also be muted, or just a simple notification that tells you when you mute that alarms will also be silenced.

Anyway, just my 2c on the mute switch debate. Obviously an easy fix and I’m sure an app will appear on Cydia for it if there’s any call for it. If there’s a lot of call for it, Apple might consider adding it. For now, just be aware that sometimes your iPhone might make noises when you don’t expect it to. That’s nothing new though as it has always behaved that way ever since I got a 3GS a couple of years back.

The original iPad was announced on January 27th 2010 and went on sale on 3rd April (WiFi only model). A few weeks later the 3G model launched and about a month after that the iPad launched in the UK and several other countries. The iPad 2 was announced early March 2011 and went on sale just over a week later in the US. The UK and other countries followed a couple of weeks after that.

Apple appears to be aiming for March launches with the iPad, so we expect the iPad 3 will be announced early March and go on sale mid-March as it did last year.

What Apple will bring to the iPad 3?

Apple will be upgrading a number of features on the iPad 3 although exactly what the changes are, I don’t know for sure until Apple make the official announcement. But, I can make quite an educated guess based on how Apple updates it’s products year after year.

• The iPad 3 will run a faster processor, perhaps a quad-core Apple A6 chip. Graphics will also be enhanced. Some reports are hinting at 20x more graphics power. Although that might seem far fetched, it also isn’t that unreasonable to think that.
• The iPad 3 will likely keep the same design as the iPad 2. Some rumours hint at it being marginally thicker although we think Apple will keep it the same as going thicker seems to be more of a backwards step for Apple.
• A Retina display is of course one of the favourites for the iPad 3. We expected to see it in the iPad 2, but perhaps due to lack of processing power and being able to manufacture 9.7 inch Retina displays cheap enough, it didn’t make it. This time around, expect to see a screen with 2,048 x 1,536 (double what the iPad 2 is or four times more pixels).
• The cameras are likely to get an upgrade and perhaps the biggest jump here will be the front facing camera. Apple now has FaceTime on iOS devices and OS X which hints that the iPad 3 will get a higher resolution camera on the front allowing for HD FaceTime calls. Although we expect the new tablet to have a better rear camera, we don’t see it jumping up to iPhone 4S standards just yet as the iPad is not primarily (or really at all), a day to day camera. It’s just too big to use to snap photos with.
• Siri integration: Although Siri is software based, we still think it belongs in the iPad 3 list because of how Apple launched Siri on the iPhone 4S… Although Siri can run on the iPhone 4 and iPad 1 and 2 with some jailbreaking, Apple restricted it to just the iPhone 4S. Apple could go two ways with Siri. First, they could launch it on the iPad 3 as another exclusive for iOS tablets, or the company could open it up for all compatible iOS 5.1 users (iPhone 3GS, 4, iPad 1, 2 and latest generation iPod touches).
• Gorilla Glass 2: Announced at CES 2012, it might be a little late for Apple to put on the front of a new tablet but with the glass being 20% thinner and retaining strength of the original Gorilla Glass, there is a possibility that Apple will take this option.
• Thunderbolt Port: There have been recent rumours that have floated around due to a patent that was found about bringing Thunderbolt to iOS devices. There’s a possibility that this could happen although it is less likely this time around.

I think that’s about it for what the iPad 3 will include. Rumours that are a little too far-fetched for this time around include the lack of a home button, fuel-cell batteries and wireless charging.

What about the September launch of an iPad 4: Digitimes sent a rumour around about the iPad 4 launching in September which will be about 6 months after the launch of the iPad 3. The iPad 4 (or whatever it’s called) was said to be a “Pro” version of the iPad. The problem with this rumour is that it just doesn’t fit with how Apple works. iOS devices typically are launched once a year and usually ever 11 – 13 months apart. There have been some changes to this such as the iPhone 4S being delayed a few months. Apple is unlikely to launch a second iPad in the same year as it breaks away from the simplicity of having a single device launch each year.

I might be alone on this, but I quite like that Apple releases an iPad each year and an iPhone each year. I use both and know roughly when I’ll be upgrading. When I was an Android user there were so many handsets available that I often wondered if that other handset was better than the one I had. Also, as I had older generation Android devices (new at the time), I occasionally found that apps wouldn’t work and had to root and use CyanogenMod to run a later version of Android so that an app was compatible.

Going back to the iPad 3 launch, don’t expect anything too radical. Apple will likely update the processor, screen, cameras and keep the same or similar design this time around. I might be wrong and I welcome your thoughts in the comments below.

O2 were limiting the iPhone to just one per customer although if you are a business user then you are allowed two of the phones, assuming you were in the queue from early on today. A significant change over the first iPhone is that the UK will be offering the phone for free on some of it’s plans (those for £45 and above) which is a smart move and very welcomed move.

Source – Sky News

Not only do roaming costs drop, but so do international call costs. Unless you are on a special plan with your mobile phone provider, then you normally end up paying a lot of money to make international calls. A VoIP app would be a nice addition to the iPhone 3G.

So back to the question… Who will be first? Check out VoIP Weblog and let them know!

The benefits of a Contact Coverflow or Contactflow could be to find those people you forget the names of but remember their faces. A quick scroll through your contacts would quickly find them… although if you don’t remember their names then why would you be asking them for a picture anyway?

Although on the surface it looks like a great idea, I could soon see it becoming a bit boring like coverflow. I still think contactflow should be included in the standard software though!

Via: TechAU

Another way Apple is not loosing out is by requiring people to buy a contract when they buy the phone. The original iPhone was purchased with out a contract and when switched on it required you sign up for a plan to activate it. This is where the Jail Break software was used in that it could bypass the activation process basically cutting out the revenue for Apple and AT&T. With having to buy a contract when purchasing the iPhone 2, Apple and AT&T will not be converting everyone to their plans.

An estimated 35 – 45 million iPhones will be sold before 2010 ends which could see Apple realise revenues of $4 Billion.

It appears on the surface that this change benefits Apple, AT&T and the end user, and yet, Apple still walks away smiling.

Via: CNN