iOS 5.1.1 is out: fixes iPad network switching, Safari syncing, AirPlay, HDR

Right on the heels of iOS 5.1 release back in March, a new maintenance update has just appeared on Apple’s servers. The new firmware for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch models carries a build number 9B206 and includes several bug fixes, including one for the annoying network switching issue with iPad 3.

Minor AirPlay issues are addressed and reliability of HDR photography taken using the lock screen shortcut is now improved. The firmware update also squashed another issue with syncing Safari bookmarks and Reading List.

Note to jailbreakers Don’t update.

According to release notes accompanying the update, it contains the obligatory improvements and bug fixes, including:

• Improves reliability of using HDR option for photos taken using the Lock Screen shortcut
• Addresses bugs that could prevent the new iPad from switching between 2G and 3G networks
• Fixes bugs that affected AirPlay video playback in some circumstances
• Improved reliability for syncing Safari bookmarks and Reading List
• Fixes an issue where ‘Unable to purchase’ alert could be displayed after successful purchase

You can install the update by connecting your device to iTunes via a USB cable and hitting the Check for Updates button in the Info section of your device information pane.

Alternatively, go to the Settings app on your device and choose Software Update in the General section. 








[Via: idownloadblog]

Google pays Apple to get its search onto iOS devices

While it’s true that users can switch between Google, Bing and Yahoo when deciding which search engine to use in Safari on iOS, it’s debatable as to whether anyone does actually change it. We’re going to put our money on the percentage being on the low side!

That’s why being the default search option on iOS is so important. If you’re the one chosen out of the box, then the chances are you’ll be the one that gets the vast majority of hits from users. Right now, that default choice is Google, and they pay handsomely for the privilege according to Macquarie analyst Ben Schachter.

Just how handsomely, you ask?

According to Shachter, Google pays Apple a cool $1 billion to be the default search option in Safari across a range of devices. Yokes.

In return for that outlay, Shachter believes that Google sees around $1.3 billion in revenues, which considering the outlay may not seem much. As is often the case with Google though, things aren’t that simple. While the money is obviously welcome, it is the data that the search giant can collect on all those extra users that is the most valuable part of this transaction, and one which Google will not want to see go away.

Apple, for its part, probably doesn’t want to have to rely on the inferior Bing or Yahoo, either.

[Via: idownloadblog & Business Insider]

iOS 5.1 now available for download

Following its media event that just ended, as promised, Apple has just released its iOS 5.1 update. The new update, which has a nice list of features, is now available in a 180MB over the air update.

The most notable features for iOS 5.1 include Siri support for Japanese users, a new camera app for iPad, and a new camera shortcut.

iOS 5.1 is available for the iPad 3, iPad 2, iPad, iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPod touch 4G, and iPod touch 3G. Additionally, Apple released iOS 5.0 for the Apple TV 3, and Apple TV 2.

iOS 5.1′s full change log:

As expected, if you download Apple’s iOS 5.1 you will be losing your jailbreak.

If you’re having trouble downloading OTA, you can download iOS 5.1 directly from our downloads page until it hits iTunes. iOS 5.1 should be available on iTunes soon, with iTunes 10.6 launching around the same time.

[Via: idownloadblog]

iOS Battery Update: iOS 5.1 Beta 3

A week after the release of iOS 5.1 beta 3 the biggest question that seems to be getting asked repeatedly is one that we have become accustomed to ever since the release of iOS 5, back in October. Yes, you guessed it – is the battery life any better yet?

We have been talking about battery life in iOS quite a bit since the issue first reared its ugly head, and we’ve discovered that it isn’t just an iPhone 4S issue, but rather something Apple changed in iOS 5. Since then the company has issued a full update in iOS 5.0.1 and a series of iOS 5.1 betas, but has the latest improved things any? Can we expect to get back to iOS 4.x-levels of battery life?

Well, no, not really…

iDB Oliver been using the beta 3 release of iOS 5.1 with his iPhone 4S for a week now, and in his testing at least, not much has changed by the way of battery life.

What he mean by that is that the iPhone still has its good and its bad days, just as it has since he started with these betas from iOS 5.0 and onwards.

Some days Oliver find the handset still buzzing along nicely at the end of the day, with 20% or more left in the tank. 

At first Oliver thought that the key differentiator here was the use of 3G or Wi-Fi, with the latter giving better results when it comes to battery longevity. That has recently been disproved, at least in my case. That said, there is clearly something going on from day to day that is causing an iPhone with the same usage patterns to vary wildly in its use of power.

At this point, iOS 5.1 in its third beta, Oliver find hisself wondering if this is as good as it is going to get. Has Apple thrown its dice as many times as it can, and we are going to just have to get used to where we are now – unpredictable battery drain?

There is also the unusual drain that occurs when the handset is idle. Last night, for example, I left my iPhone off-charge overnight with 25% of its battery remaining.Oliver awoke this morning to a battery with just 2% left in it. A few emails had been received, but that is it. Where did the 23% go? Yes, he know these things aren’t always accurate, but that is a considerable drop for an idle handset by anyone’s measure.

While not causing any great headaches, it is an indisputable fact that my previous iPhone 4 would routinely last a couple of days on a full charge before iOS 5 began to drain a lot of power around the time Apple released the GM version of its new OS. After that, the issues began.

I’d love to know what Apple added during that release, but we’ll probably never know.

How is your battery life now the dust has settled on the iPhone 4S release?

[Via: idownloadblog]