News

With all of the iPhone 5 rumors floating around, improvements to AirPlay don't sound too interesting on the surface. Some iPhone owners just wish that Apple's wireless streaming technology worked better in general. Well now The Telegraph reports that component manufacturers are getting ready for a major change to AirPlay.

The new version is called AirPlay Direct, and it's expected to launch this fall with iOS 6 and the next generation iPhone. The term AirPlay Direct is not even final as Apple puts the finishing touches on its media event planned for September 12. Currently, AirPlay requires a Wi-Fi network and compatible streaming device.

Those looking forward to paying with their iPhone 5 had their hopes up after leaked photos purported to show a previously unidentified NFC chip on the next generation device housing. iOS 6 and the Passbook application have fueled speculation about Apple's adoption of the technology.

The photo above shows the part in question, which Apple.pro claimed showed an NFC component (surrounded by a red box). The rumor spread quickly, with NFC fans having a new reason overnight to pre-order the iPhone 5. Not so fast.

T-Mobile may not be an official Apple partner, but the company is making serious moves to increase the amount of iPhones used on its network. According to a leaked flyer obtained by TMONews, the carrier is preparing to launch a "Bring Your iPhone to T-Mobile" campaign.

The flyer shows how much money AT&T customers will save if they bring their unlocked iPhones to T-Mobile. The carrier's move comes after AT&T's Mobile Share Plan / FaceTime controversy, and right before Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 5 in Spetmeber. iOS 6 will add 3G cellular calling to the popular FaceTime feature on the iPhone 4S and later models, and AT&T has announced that its subscribers will need a Mobile Share data plan to use the 3G service. T-Mobile hopes AT&T's unpopular FaceTime policy will convince some AT&T subscribers to switch carriers, but that's not all T-Mobile has up its sleeve.

Ever notice there's no timer on the iPhone Camera? Setting the iPhone up somewhere so you can run and be in the photo might not be the easiest thing, but it would be nice to know you have the option. Now thanks to the jailbreak tweak CamTime you can use the iPhone camera just like a point-and-shoot with a timer.

CamTime adds a timer button next to the shutter release, and simulates pressing this button when the time runs out. You can enter the number of seconds you want the timer to run before it snaps the photo. In fact, because it simulates this button you can even set a timer in seconds to delay the start of a video if desired.

One thing that can be annoying is the default behavior of the iPhone status bar. For one, whenever you open the multitasking app switcher, the entire thing gets pushed off the screen. Is there really any good reason for this? Well now you can force the status bar to stay put even when you open the multitasking dock.

The way to accomplish this is a free jailbreak tweak from Cydia called Status Bar Switcher. In order to install this tweak your iPhone must be jailbroken. Once installed there are no settings to configure, just respring and the status bar will stop moving off the screen.