Top AppAdvice News And Apps Of The Past Week

The iPhone 5 is most likely headed for public release in early October, while the iPad 3 (launching in 2012) will sport Retina display. Meanwhile, HP prepared to pull out of the PC and tablet market. These are just a few of the topics making news this week. Industry News The iPhone 5 Could Arrive On Friday, October 7th It looks like the next-generation iPhone could debut on Friday, October 7, according to 9 To 5 Mac. If correct, preorders for the iPhone 5 could begin as early as September 30th. The October date – which has not yet been confirmed by Apple – was also cited in a TiBp report last week. Report: iPhone 5 Could Include 4G LTE Support We’ve heard a lot of iPhone 5 rumors over the course of the past few months. However, today is the first time we’ve heard some evidence that the new handset will support 4G LTE. This would be the first time an iPhone would do so, according to BGR. Since the release of the iPhone 3G in 2008, iPhones have (obviously) supported 3G networks. However, even the iPhone 4 does not support the faster 4G LTE network. Now, that could soon change with the release of the next iPhone model, expected to arrive sometime before the end of the year. Breaking: Google To Buy Motorola — Hopes To Compete With Apple Just moments ago, Google founder and CEO Larry Page announced, in a blog post, his company’s intention to purchase Motorola Mobility, the mobile division of the American-based electronics giant and longtime Android supporter for about $12.5 billion. With over 150 million users, Google is, with Android, one of the biggest players in the world of smartphones at the moment, and Apple’s biggest competitor. Their OS, which they license for free to handset manufacturers hoping it will drive revenue from Google’s services has been quite a hit. Yet, Google has lacked the deep integration, and great experience Apple has always been able to provide by controlling both the software and hardware of its mobile products. The Wall Street Journal Confirms Higher Resolution iPads For 2012 While it’s long been questioned whether a Retina-resolution iPad would be technically feasible anytime soon, The Wall Street Journal has received word today that Apple is currently starting to work on the production of such a device, with a launch scheduled for early next year. This information, which the WSJ claims comes from “people familiar with the situation” or rather “Apple” in WSJ’s lingo, confirms what most rational people expected. That is, Apple is sticking to its yearly iPad release schedule and will release the next model as it does every year, sometimes in April. Apple Deprecates UDID Access - Will Prevent Creepy Developers From Tracking You Those of you particularly concerned by your privacy and your apps’ ability to track you will be thrilled to hear that Apple is taking new steps towards making our devices more anonymous, and eventually protect us from being identified. Indeed, as discovered by Techcrunch, Apple has “deprecated” third-party access to your Unique Device Identifier (UDID) in iOS 5. The UDID, if you never heard of it, is a code unique to each iDevice that allows to identify it. Mostly used for developers to distribute beta software, it can also be accessed by developers of third-party App Store apps to identify your device, target ads, help extraterrestrial intelligence agencies track you and sometimes even restore settings. The problem is, this code is unique to your device, and therefore it could be used to track your device, in particular across apps. HP Calls It Quits After RIM and Microsoft, Apple has taken out another old technology giant this week, Hewlett-Packard. In a dramatic turn of events, the world’s largest PC vendor announced last night that it’s discontinuing all of its WebOS products, including the recently launched TouchPad and its Pre Smartphones, and will be looking to spin off its computer business. iPad App News Gameloft Plans On Including Universal App Support In All Future Titles With Gameloft launching games left and right, and doing quite well on the App Store as of late, iPad support, through universal apps, should be a no brainer these days. According to Touch Arcade, the practice of releasing an iPad version of a game for a higher price and at a later date may soon draw to an end. Touch Arcade further reports: “Gameloft PR Manager Gregory Wintgens stated that from here on out the iOS mega-developer plans to ‘release everything as Universal’ rather than the long standing practice of having separate versions for iPhone/iPod touch and the iPad.” Really, Men (And Women) Can Do Better Than CFG: Cosmo For Guys App What’s the best part about the new CFG: Cosmo For Guys magazine for iPad? It’s less than 30 pages long. Beyond that, there isn’t much to love about a publication that attempts to be Maxim (without the nearly naked women), and is nothing more than a how-to book for men seeking women, clothed or otherwise. CFG’s moniker is “What Women Want – Straight From the Source.” Assuming that all women want sex 24/7 and in 50 different positions, the magazine succeeds. Cinemax MAX GO Universal Application Now Available In App Store “MAX GO contains age-restricted material.” This is the pop-up message displayed when iOS fans download Cinemax’s new, universal and free application on an iDevice, which obviously emphasizes the fact that MAX GO features what can only be described as “adult content.” Following the release of the app, which allows users to stream Cinemax content on an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, many have been wondering how the application made it past the approval process. iPhone App News Watch Your Photo Grow In Photovine Photovine (Free) by Photovine allows you to social network with others by using “photovines” — a group of photos around a single, shared caption. This is Google’s latest foray into social networking, though it’s an indirect effort. You couldn’t tell that this is a Google property, since the Google brand is absent from the app and the website.