iPhone News Updated

Improved Notifications | What’s next for Apple’s iPhone?

Perhaps the first real smartphone operating system, iOS is widely regarded as a slick and aesthetically pleasing platform. When Apple introduced Push Notifications with the release of iOS 3.0, users could finally receive updates without having to keep an application open, but they weren’t pretty.

Apple has chosen not to improve the UI of its notifications since iOS 3.0 launched in June 2009 but it is widely suggested that the company is about to overhaul the way it updates users on its iPhone handsets. With the jailbreak community filling the void between Apple’s push notifications and Android’s widget-based homescreens, the Cupertino-based company has seemingly stolen a march by hiring the very guy that showed Apple users what they were missing out on.

Reports on Sunday have indicated that the developer of the popular jailbreak notification application MobileNotifier, Peter Hajas, may have been snapped up by Apple, to assist them with development on improving the way its iOS software notifies users. Whilst reports aren’t confirmed, a tiny phrase used in a blog post stating that he was no longer working on the MobileNotifier project has set the rumour-mill into overdrive.

Hajas’ post reads as follows (the emphasis is ours):

I’m taking a break from MobileNotifier and Widge for a while. I have other opportunities and priorities currently. I won’t be able to do much (if any) work on the projects, and I won’t have time to respond to many Tweets or emails. The project is in capable hands, with Kyle Adams, Tim Novinger and others (like Marc Easen) keeping things going.

This is definitely not goodbye. I can’t say why, but it’s worth it. Trust me. If you look around hard enough, you’ll probably figure it out. I hope you guys understand, and I look forward to bringing you more awesome, great, free open source software in the future. Stay tuned for some amazing things! If you absolutely must get in touch with me, send me an email.

Until then, stay hungry and stay foolish.

We looked around hard enough and found what Rajas wanted us to find; evidence that suggest he is to work for Apple. Notice the final five words of his post, perform a couple Google searches and you will come upon this video:

The phrase “Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish”, as said by Steve Jobs himself.

You might be wondering what impact Hajas will have on the iOS platform, if indeed he is to be working with Apple to improve the way the iPhone notifies its owner. MobileNotifier has been regarded as the piece of software that truly schooled Apple on how something should be done and done well, transforming a boring popup notification into this:

Improved notifications might be announced by Apple before the next-generation iPhone is launched but they will undoubtedly feature on the new device when it becomes available. We imagine that Apple wouldn’t stop with improving the notifications system but would also look to embed customizable widgets and additional ways to enhance the homescreen, so the iPhone can be a lot more interactive out of the box.

[Thanks: http://thenextweb.com]

NFC – Contactless Payments | What’s next for Apple’s iPhone?

This is one of the most obvious inclusions given Google’s foray into contactless payment services and partnership with Samsung to include NFC chips within the Google-branded Nexus S Android smartphone.

In January, Apple posted a new job listing to its recruitment page seeking a test engineer for iPhone hardware. The listing required the candidate to have knowledge of RFID, a radio technology that falls under the Near Field Communications banner, which can be been used to wirelessly transmit secure data to devices within a close proximity.

Apple’s listing followed analyst reports that the company was readying its own e-wallet, utilising existing customer data and payment details which it has collected for iTunes and App Store use to provide a simple and effective way for iPhone owners to wirelessly pay for goods and services, possibly replacing house keys in a number of years.

Apple already has the necessary components in place to include the technology and roll out an associated service. With millions of customers having already entered their payment details into iTunes to pay for music, apps and movie downloads, Apple is trusted the world over and would likely be the catalyst in pushing contactless payments to the masses.

If Apple doesn’t do it first, it does it better; an Apple-powered payment service would almost certainly roll out across the world at launch, something that no other smartphone manufacturer has either attempted or simply doesn’t have the resources to do.

[Thanks: http://thenextweb.com]