Nuance Bringing Voice Recognition in iOS 5?
TechCrunch is chiming in the Apple is currently talking to Nuance Communication, the same providers for some of the voice recognition/voice control applications that are presented on the Mac OS and iOS platform, to bring voice recognition to the core of the iOS.
“Apple has been negotiating a deal with Nuance in recent months, we’ve heard from multiple sources. What does that mean? Well, it could mean an acquisition, but that is looking fairly unlikely at this point, we hear. More likely, it means a partnership that will be vital to both companies and could shape the future of iOS.”
SoundHound Updates to 3.6.2
SoundHound, the music identification and exploration app for iOS has recently released an update to version 3.6.2. Here is what the update text states:
- Now Playing Share: Tell friends your current iPod song in just one tap
- Improved layout for easier sharing and browsing
- Smoother geo-tagging experience
- Improved responsiveness and stability
3.6.2 offers improved speed and stability while also introducing a cleaner layout and better experience when geo-tagging your music submissions for SoundHound’s social network aspect. 3.6.2 also offers a new “Now Playing Share” feature which allows you to share your currently playing song on your iPod with just a tap.
Instagram Updates to Version 1.6.5
Instagram – the picture based social network app for the iPhone has recently updated to version 1.6.5. Here’s what the update text says:
- Added Radial tiltshift mode
- Image quality improvements when choosing from library
- Improved speed throughout the app
- Crash fixes & improvements
Although small, this 1.6.5 update adds a brand new mode – tiltshift mode. This gives you the ability of making whatever you are photographing look like a small toy by changing the focus and blurring certain parts of the image. 1.6.5 also improves the quality when converting regular pictures taken on your iPhone, to the smaller Instagram format. This update also has a slew of bug fixes and speed improvements making it a must-update for all Instagram users. Get it in the iOS app store or through iTunes.
Words With Friends Updates to 4.02
The ever popular Scrabble-like game for the iPhone has recently updated to version 4.02! Here is what the update text states:
- Fixed issue that was causing intermittent crashes on startup
- Fixed occasional crash when rematching games
- Improved logic refreshing Facebook friends
- Added improved crash reporting to solve issues faster in future updates
So overall this looks like a bug-fix update improving crashes on startup and rematches as well as improved programming when it comes to interacting with facebook and a better system to solve issues in the future.
MobileMe “Castle”?
Sources have been diving through the new build of Mac OS X Lion and discovering new things. One interesting discovery made by a source is the groundwork and icon for the “Find My Mac” service, which seems to offer the same locating service as Find My iPhone/iPod/iPad. However, to have this ability, it was discovered that one would have to upgrade to a version of MobileMe that is called “Castle”.
Click OK to open System Preferences and complete your upgrade from MobileMe to Castle.
Consomac.fr, the sources who made the discovery, said that it could be just a placeholder until Apple adds the iCloud name it recently purchased.
Apple “Reading List” To Compete With Instapaper And ReadItLater
Apple is currently working on a new feature in Safari that allows for a different kind of bookmarking. “Reading List,” as the company calls it, allows user to save web pages for later reading in a innovative way.
Reading List lets you collect webpages and links for you to read later. To add the current page to your Reading List, click Add Page. You can also Shift-click a link to quickly add it to the list. To hide and show Reading List, click the Reading List icon (eyeglasses) in the bookmarks bar.
The icon for the software.
Apple Tweaks UI In New Lion Build
Apple has released a new beta build for Mac OS X Lion. Developers have been combing through the software to find any changes that have been made since the last seeding of the software. In this build, it seems as though Apple has responded to criticism in some of its software as there has been developers chatting about the confusion in the selector in various areas of the software. Apple has cleared up the confusion by giving the impression that the active function a “pushed in” looks opposed to the previous one.
Signs Are Pointing To Apple Developed Turn-By-Turn Navi
There has been some evidence that supports the notion that Apple will introduce a new Maps application that will exhibit in-depth navigation which will include traffic conditions, turn-by-turn navigation, and voice guidance. With the Q&A from Apple regarding the now popular iOS location tracking fiasco. Apple disclosed that in addition to gaining information on Wi-Fi base-stations and cellular network towers, Apple has also been collecting anonymous information on traffic conditions.
What other location data is Apple collecting from the iPhone besides crowd-sourced Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower data?
Apple Already Using The iCloud Name In Beta Builds?
In the midst of the purchase of the iCloud domain name purchase by Apple, it is now being said that Cupertino is already using the iCloud name in software beta builds of iOS 5 and Mac OS X Lion.
Apple has begun adopting the “iCloud” name within several products currently under development, suggesting the appropriately labeled moniker is indeed the frontrunner for the company’s soon-to-debut Internet cloud service, which will span beyond streaming music, AppleInsider has learned.
Apple Officially Addresses iOS Tracking Inquiries.
Today, Apple addressed the now widely public iOS tracking issue that has made some believe that this could be a potential invasion of privacy. The company has published a document in Q&A format answering some of the many question that have arisen about the logging of location in iPhone, iPad, and iPod products.
Giving explanation on the logging of location information for iOS devices, Apple has said:
Why is my iPhone logging my location?
