News

Twitter is about to get a whole lot better on the iPhone. The app has had a tough time keeping iOS users happy, but all of this is about to change. Details of new features coming to the upcoming 4.3 update have leaked on the redesigned iOS 6 App Store. 9to5Mac uncovered the list of improvements in the Twitter Update History.

The list shows us a glimpse into the future of Twitter on the iPhone. One of the major enhancements deals with push notifications. Not only can you receive notifications when particular people post tweets, you can also receive unobtrusive Twitter notifications while using the app. There are many more improvements and bug fixes on the way.

AT&T will launch a new service to deny voice, data and SMS access on stolen or lost iPhones starting Tuesday. According to an internal AT&T email obtained by The Verge, the carrier will compile a "blocklist" of stolen devices to help cut down on mobile phone theft.

The email sent to customer service representatives says the new security measure will begin on July 10th. It also states that customers "can now request the stolen device be blocked from use by others on the AT&T network", and that the line will be "automatically suspended if any attempt is made to use a device." Users will have to contact a customer service rep directly to add a device to the list. Customers with remote data wipe apps will also be required to activate them to restrict access to personal data.

Apple has pulled a malicious app from its App Store after the Russian security firm Kaspersky Lab reported that it was a Trojan that uploads a user's contact info to the developer's servers.

"At first glance, this seemed to be an SMS worm spread via sending short messages to all contacts stored in the phone book with the URL to itself," explained Kaspersky Lab‘s Denis Maslennikov. "However, our analysis of the iOS and Android versions of the same application showed that it’s not an SMS worm but a Trojan that uploads a user’s phonebook to remote server. The ‘replication’ part is done by the server – SMS spam messages with the URL to the application are being sent from the remote server to all the contacts in the user’s address book.”

The application mostly attacked Russian users, but it was available worldwide via the App Store and Google Play for Android devices. Kaspersky Lab reminded everyone that "there have not been any incidents of malware inside the iOS Apple App Store since its launch 5 years ago."

According to an email sent to iOS developers, Apple is adding a new dedicated "food and drink" section to its App Store. The new category will include “apps that help users cook and bake, mix drinks, manage recipes, find new restaurants and bars, and learn what their friends like to eat and drink”. Food & Drink won’t include diet, grocery shopping, coupon clipping, or food-related game apps”. Most of the food apps, which are normally listed under "Lifestyle" by their developers, will be automatically migrated to the new Food & Drink category starting on July 8th.

Here's a list of some popular apps that you should be able to find under the new "Food & Drink" section:

Chefs Feed (free for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch) - A great app for Foodies or people who are overwhelmed when visiting major cities like San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. The app features over 100 famous chefs' favorite dishes, places to eat and it allows users to receive up to the minute updates via its live feed.

HiddenHelper, the new jailbreak tweak for the iPhone, allows you to use Siri without the Siri interface popping up on your Home screen. This can be helpful when you want to set your alarm or dictate a note on your iPhone while you are using the device for something else, and you don't want Siri to interrupt. For example, Siri will not interrupt your Angry Birds game by displaying the note you just dictated to her. It's a great multitasking tool.

HiddenHelper also allows you to decide which Siri snippets you want displayed, and which snippets you want disabled. Asking Siri to tell you about the weather is useless without the UI because Siri displays the temperature instead of reading it to you. Wolfram Alpha queries are also pointless without Siri displaying the results.