Apple is ready to ditch Google Maps in favor of home brewed mapping solution on its iOS operating system that powers iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, reports 9To5Mac. 9To5Mac also reports that the application design is similar to the current Google Maps program on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, but it is much more cleaner, faster, and gives a reliable experience.

Apple had always used Google’s Mapping solutions for its backend but had full control of the actual iOS Maps application design. Knowing Apple, which likes complete control of everything it does, it isn’t a surprise that it’s launching its own mapping solutions. Apple had previously hinted at the same when it went on a buying spree and bought a series of Mapping companies including – Placebase, an online mapping company; C3 Technologies, a mapping company that offers Photorealistic 3D maps; and Poly9, a Canadian 3D mapping startup. What’s interesting is that, it looks like Apple is making use of C3 Technologies’ 3D maps technology. For the uninitiated ones, take a look at the incredible 3D maps by C3 Technologies:

The new mapping app is to make its debut once iOS 6 hits the streets. iOS 6 will most probably be introduced at Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC).

Not a first blow for Google Maps

This isn’t Google Maps’ first blow. Previously, Apple started using OpenStreetMap for iPhoto for iOS. New York based location based check-in startup also ditched Google Maps in favor of MapBox which utilizes open-source OpenStreetMap due to Google Maps’ updated API pricing ($4 for every 1,000 visitors past 25,000).

Along with the ‘new iPad‘, Apple has also released iOS 5.1 to iDevice owners. This new version of iOS brings with it quite a few changes, bug fixes and new features. The most important change in the new version is that Siri now officially supports Japanese language. Secondly, users can also delete photos from their Photo Stream.

Other changes include a permanent camera shortcut icon on the lockscreen, battery life improvements, and more. Below the the full change-log of the update -:

• Japanese language support for Siri
• Photos can now be deleted from Photo Stream
• Camera shortcut now always visible on Lock screen for iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch (4th generation)
• Camera face detection now highlights all detected faces
• Redesigned Camera app for iPad
• Genius Mixes and Genius Playlists for iTunes Match Subscribers
• Audio for TV shows and movies on iPad optimized to sound louder and clearer
• Updated AT&T network indicator
• Address bugs affecting battery life
• Fixes an issue that occasionally caused audio to drop for outgoing calls.

Apple fans: As if things weren’t good enough already, Box.net has an offer that will blow your mind! Mark Saldana, Social Media Manager at Box.net, announced on their official blog, that iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch users will get 50GB of lifetime storage for free if they sign up for a Box Personal account.

The offer started at midnight of October 13th and will extend for 50 days. The Box account isn’t restricted to just the mobile device, either, so you can use it with your PC. Below are the instructions stated on their website to set up a new account.

1. Visit the app store and download the Box app for your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch
2. Log in to your account or register for a new one directly from the app
3. Start sharing and collaborating in the cloud
4. (optional but recommended) Tell the world how you’ll use your 50 GB with the hashtag  #Box50GB

It is obvious that Box.net is trying to capitalize on the iPhone 4S euphoria. Not only that, but you have to believe that the introduction of Apple’s iCloud has a little to do with it, as well. All new Apple devices now come with the iCloud. This basically gets you 5GB of online storage for free. The iCloud’s seamless integration with iPhone/iPad devices threatens to take market share from companies like Box.net. It’s understandable that Box.net would come out in full swing.

This is a great promotion and, according to their blog, there will be other contests and tips coming in the next 50 days, so you might want to stay tuned.

What about you? Is this a service that you would like to take advantage of? Let us know your thoughts and if you are considering this as part of your app collection.

Don’t forget to read our earlier article about how you can mount Box.net in Windows Explorer.

Apple recently released the latest and probably the best iteration of iOS to iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad users. If you haven’t updated yet to iOS5 you can find direct download links for iOS5 and instructions on how to upgrade to iOS5 through iTunes or manually. iOS5 has tons of new features, however, the best one I find is the new notification system which I think was inspired from Android.

Nevertheless, I am not here to start a feud on who copied whom but just talk about using the new Notification system in iOS5. First things first, the new notification system in iOS5 is pretty neat. However, not many people would be aware on how to use it just like creating folders in iOS and probably taking screenshots with an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad.

First off, notifications will not pop up like it did in iOS4 and earlier. They will be displayed more subtly on the lock screen as well as when you are logged into the device. Secondly, notifications will not popup when you are within an application or playing a game (this used to be quite annoying).

Last but not the least, all notifications will be clubbed together and will be available through a single swipe from the top to bottom. To access your notifications, you will have to swipe your finger from the top of the screen and drag it down.

Please note that the notification center is invisible. To access it just swipe your finger from top to bottom and it should display the Notification center where you can view all the notifications and take action on them.

To hide the notification center, just drag the tiles back up as shown in the image above and the notification center should be hidden. You can display and hide the notification center in any app you are using. This makes it really useful, because you can check your emails even while you are playing games.

How did you like the new notification system in iOS5? Is it good or bad?

Before announcing the new iPhone, Apple announced a new updated version of iPod Nano. The new iPod Nano looks similar to its predecessor, and sports the same compact design with a multi-touch display.

The new Nano has some improvements though. It sports a Pedometer, which allows it to track a user’s walks and running/jogging session. There are also some UI enhancements to make it easier to navigate.

Other than that, there are 16 new clock designs. Oh! There is also FM Radio for the people who still care about it. The new Nano from Apple is also their cheapest Nano until date, with the 8GB version coming in at $129, and the 16GB version costing $149.

The Fruit named company also announced an updated model of the iPod Touch. Compared to the 4th gen Touch, the new Touch is slimmer and has a Retina Display. The new Touch will also have a front-facing camera for FaceTime with a camera at the back which is capable of recording HD videos. The new iPod Touch will run on iOS5, with all its new features including iCloud and iMessage.

The new iPod Touch will be available beginning from October 12, with the 8GB version coming in at $199 and the top-end 64GB version costs $399. The 32GB version costs $299.

Before announcing the next-generation iPhone, Apple gave us a small run-down of the top 10 features in iOS5. The new version of iOS has some major changes, including a much needed and completely revamped notification center.

The new Notification center in iOS5 is highly inspired by the Android notification system, except that it looks much better and functional. Other than this, iOS5 also has a new messaging system for iOS users, iMessage. This new service will allow iOS device users to interact with each other for free. iMessage has the potential to be a true BBM killer.

Other major change in iOS5 is deep Twitter integration. iOS users just need to sign-in to Twitter once, and they are done! No need to sign-in again, anywhere. They can also see the latest tweets from their contacts when they open the Contacts app. They can also directly share an image on Twitter right from the Photos app.

Other changes in iOS5 includes Push to all devices, Reminders which is location aware as well, new Camera app, new and improved Safari with a new interface, improved Game Center, enhancements to the Mail app, and most importantly Wi-Fi sync. iOS users can now directly sync their iDevice to iTunes via Wi-Fi. Also, they don’t need to connect their iDevice to a PC when they start it for the first time.

Apple also announced that iOS5 will be available for free starting from next Wednesday i.e. October 12th. The new version of iOS will be compatible with the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad, iPad 2, and the 3rd and 4th gen iPod Touch.

Skype users on iOS devices should be on the look out for malicious users who intend on stealing their address book.

A vulnerability affecting Skype 3.01 on iOS devices, including the iPod Touch and iPhone, gives an attacker the ability to secretly upload the entire contents of your address book. The hole is due to a non-validated input field in the client, instead of the contents being displayed to the user, they are executed. Coupling XSS with sandbox permissions that do not allow for fine-tuned access control within apps, provides a way for an attacker to steal the contents of an unsuspecting user’s address book.

Skype has been criticised numerous times over identical vulnerabilities in their desktop software, that allowed for remote code to be executed on a victim’s computer. The flaw is one that Skype has had reported numerous times, fixed numerous times, yet they have not completely audited the applications before release.

Phil has detailed the attack performed against an iPhone 4 running iOS 4.3.5 and has indicated that the vulnerability was reported to Skype over a month ago. Hopefully a fix is in the works, but more importantly, hopefully Skype will perform a full check instead of simply throwing input sanitising on the vulnerable text field.

Back in July, Dutch site AppleSpot.nl claimed that Apple is planning to introduce an iPod touch with 3G capabilities. Today, AppleNApps reports that Apple’s new iPod touch will offer access to 3G data networks.

According to the report, Apple has already worked with wireless carriers to offer data-service only plans similar to those used for the iPad. In addition, the new iPod touch will reportedly look “very similar” to the current fourth-geneartion model, released last September. The new iPod touch will not feature voice capabilities, remaining data-only, the report said.  The source cautioned that there is “no guarantee” the new iPod touch will have 3G connectivity built in, but said that the changes “should make it”.

After talking with multiple people over the past few weeks, we had a lengthy chat with one person who gave us great news about the next iPod Touch. We’ve used this person in the past, but they did qualify their remarks, saying that the iPod Touch changes should make it, but there’s no guarantee the changes will be ready for fall. The 3G iPod Touch idea intrigued us so much back in July, and we’ve been trying to find one of our contacts who can give some credence to the idea. A few have declined to comment, while others honestly have no idea, but the source for this report says that Apple is indeed working on a 3G iPod Touch. Apple is intent on announcing the device during their September event which they usually save for their iPod line, but will include the iPhone as well this year.

Earlier this year, evidence of the forthcoming iPod touch refresh surfaced with the discovery of a new “iPod4,2″ model mentioned in the property list files in early iOS 5 builds.  AppleNApps  has yet to establish a significant track record of Apple-related rumors so take this report with a pinch of salt.

Apple is expected to unveil its next-genration iPod touch in the coming weeks at a press event. Numerous rumors have suggested a launch in October.

Unlike Google, Apple protects its customers from malware and other viruses which may affect iOS. Also, Apple dislikes security flaws popping up in iOS, and they do whatever it takes to offer quick fixes. Just 10 days after the release of iOS 4.3.4 (fixed a PDF exploit), they have released a new version of iOS: iOS 4.3.5.

This update is a minor update and fixes another security exploit. iOS 4.3.5 offers a a fix for a  security flaw which might allow attacker with a privileged network position may capture or modify data in sessions protected by SSL/TLS. To keep things simple, it means that a hacker on the same network could store or change traffic that would instead be encrypted.  iOS 4.3.4 did affect the JailbreakMe method, but this has no affect on jailbreakers. RedmondPie reports that the jailbreak method that worked with 4.3.4 will work here also.

Direct download links:

• iPhone 4 GSM
• iPhone 4 CDMA  (iOS 4.2.10)
• iPhone 3GS
• iPad 2 Wi-Fi
• iPad 2 GSM
• iPad 2 CDMA
• Original iPad
• iPod touch (fourth-generation)
• iPod touch (third-generation)

After updating my iOS devices (iPhone 4/iPad 2), I have noticed that my devices are a lot snappier and it seems that with every update Apple offers battery life is improved. Anyone notice anything new? Let us know in the comments.

A very interesting rumor about the new version of the iPod Touch is working its way through the tech media right now. Apparently, a Dutch blog, Applespot, has reported that Apple might be working on 3G version of the iPod Touch.

According to their sources, Apple’s new iPod Touch 3G will launch in September, and it will work just like the iPhone. You can buy a 3G data plan from your ISP and insert the SIM card into the iPod Touch. It will, obviously, not support voice calling, since then it would be exactly the same as the iPhone.

While the source of the rumor isn’t very credible, I wouldn’t be very surprised if this did turn out to be true. Like the iPad, the iPod Touch could also have a 3G version. It’s only the logical next step for Apple, but what I’m worried about is, how it might affect iPhone sales.

Since the iPod Touch is substantially cheaper than the iPhone, launching a 3G version of the iPod Touch might actually cannibalize Apple’s iPhone sales. Using apps like Skype for VOIP calls and iMessage for text messaging, it could very well function just like an iPhone. One thing’s for sure, the carriers will definitely be happy with the increased data usage, though they might lose some voice revenue.

If Apple does launch an iPod Touch with 3G, it could also double up as an inexpensive version of the iPhone, sans the voice calling. It might be just what Apple needs to capture more market share and fight off competitors like Android and Windows Phone 7.