Apple has jumped on the Wi-Fi Direct bandwagon, which means we could see the technology introduced into the iPhone and iPod touch as early as 2010. What is it and what does it do? It basically lets devices connect peer-to-peer for data exchange, similar to how Bluetooth currently works. Or, if we understand it right, imagine the Remote app controlling your iTunes or Apple TV, but directly, without the need for shared router in between. Says AppleInsider:

The new Wi-Fi Direct standard is intended for both consumer electronics and enterprise applications. It will include WPA2 security, and management features for enterprise environments. The new technology will use roughly the same power, provide the same data rates, and offer the same range as current Wi-Fi products.

Given the timetable, it might cut things too close for Wi-Fi Direct in a 4th generation iPhone, expected to be announced in mid-June at WWDC 2010, though it might be in time for a 4th generation iPod touch that September. But here’s hoping Apple can get it done. Just think of the phat multi-player gaming pipe it would provide… (Or, you know — pay attention Apple! — Wi-Fi Direct Sync?!)

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Apple Bringing Wi-Fi Direct to iPhone in 2010?

Are you looking for some good iPhone conversation? From the Forums is a great way to see what all of the current hot topics are on the TiPb forums. In order to create any new threads of your own or reply to any of the existing threads, you must be a registered member. Becoming a member is a simple process that will only take a few minutes out of your day, so if you have not already already done so, head on over and register now.

First topic up for today, App Store Genius and how is it working for you? Rene doesn’t seem to be having the best of luck with his Genius, for me it started out pretty so-so but it seems the more I delete the more accurate it seems to get. Perhaps my mind is playing tricks on me, how is it working for you?

iPhone OS 3.1.2 was released yesterday and we are assuming most of you jumped right in and updated your phones. Cdudek was wondering, how is your battery life on the 3.1.2 software? Anyone notice a significant change for the better or for the worse? Check the thread out to see results from other forum members and while you are there, post your own.

This next thread for today comes to us from naviwilliams and he offers up a question that we hear quite often – do you leave Wi-Fi on or off? It is a fact that using Wi-Fi over 3G will save you a decent amount of battery life so I have a tendency to leave it on since Wi-Fi is available to me at work and at home. How about you?

Last up for today is one of my personal favorite forums to check out – the iPhone Jailbreak and Unlock forum. This is the place to check out if you are interested in jailbreaking or unlocking your device. Most of the time you can find the answers to your questions within minutes.

See you on the forums!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

From the Forums: App Store Genius, 3.1.2 Battery Life, iPhone Wi-Fi, Jailbreak/Unlock

Following up on last night‘ release of iPhone 3.1 Beta 2 firmware and SDK, developers are finding more changes and new features.

• TUAW reports that the AT&T IPCC hack, where the carrier file was modified to allow iPhone tethering sans official AT&T sanction no longer works. Bummer, given AT&T still hasn’t announced anything about legitimate tethering support or pricing.

• Engadget Mobile’s been informed that new APIs have been introduced allowing for the manipulation of live video to produce “augmented reality” apps (where information is layered on top of the video).

• Ars Technica reports iPhone 3.1 Beta 2 allows developers to connect to test devices via Wi-Fi, rather than having to tether via USB as in previous releases, and still access instruments and other features.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iPhone 3.1 Beta 2 Breaks AT&T Tethering Hack, Allows Wi-Fi Testing, Intros Augmented Reality APIs?

Apple has updated a knowledge base article for those “Unable to use Wi-Fi or Bluetooth with iPhone or iPod touch because there’s no address listed for the device”, which is something we’ve heard quite a bit about lately. The four-pronged approach:

1. Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings
2. Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings.
3. Restore the device via iTunes
4. Take your iPhone or iPod touch in for repairs.

Apple finishes off with some extra advice:

If the device shows an address in the Wi-Fi Address field and you are still having issues using Wi-Fi, refer to article 305715 for additional Wi-Fi troubleshooting tips. If the device shows an address in the Bluetooth field and you are still having issues using Bluetooth, refer to articles HT1843 and HT1664 for additional Bluetooth troubleshooting tips.

If any of that works for you, let us know in the comments. If it doesn’t, let us know as well…

[via iLounge]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Apple Addresses iPhone and iPod touch Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Problems – Reset, Redo, Restore, Repair

Back when iPhone 3.0 launched, we heard Wi-Fi was giving problems to some — primarily iPod touch — users. Various network resets or OS restores seem to have quieted that down, but now TUAW is reporting that the newly launched iPhone 3GS might be suffering Wi-Fi troubles as well:

Users note that signal strength can fluctuate between one and full bars even when standing right next to the router or when a computer nearby shows a constant signal. This goes along with a commensurate reduction in speed.

Neither Jeremy nor I have been experiencing this, but if you have, let us know in the comments, along with what type of router you’re running, and what kind of speed/connection quality you’re getting (or not getting, more precisely).

(Wether this is, in fact, a widespread problem and one corrected by iPhone 3.1 we don’t yet).

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iPhone 3.0 Still Causing Wi-Fi Problems?

Well I’m sure by now you have heard the latest Smarthphone Experts Roundtable Podcast! (If you haven’t had a chance to listen you better get on it, great podcast!)

You may have heard our very own fearless leader, Dieter, chime in on one thing that he hates about iPhone 3G, the fact that you can not turn on Wi-Fi while the radio is off (in Airplane Mode). Or so Dieter thought. You can indeed turn Wi-Fi on while the radio is off! And doing so is a snap!

First go into your Settings – Turn on Airplane Mode – and then turn your Wi-Fi connection on.

Now you can enjoy browsing the internet, checking emails, or anything else data related all without the radio on!

[Ed: Thanks also to Stephen Sizemore for bringing this up in the podcast comments! Let us know how that works for you, b'okay boss?]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

How To: Turn on WiFi While the iPhone 3G/EDGE Radio is Off

According to reports submitted to MacRumors, users are no longer able to access free Wi-Fi at Starbucks and Barnes & Nobles Locations.

I am sure this is due to a “beta” phase for AT&T to test connectivity. Once wind got out that people are accessing it, they stopped. The fact that AT&T is even doing this is really cool; it adds value to the AT&T proposition for their mobile service.

Will AT&T Extend the Wi-Fi “courtesy” officially? Perhaps AT&T will offer customers Wi-Fi for use on laptops? Who knows, we are still waiting for an official AT&T press release describing their future Wi-Fi plans.

I think anyone will agree that whatever AT&T is doing, it will be better than T-Mobile’s offerings.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

AT&T discontinues free Wi-Fi for iPhone users?

When the iPhone and iPod Touch first shipped, many eager big business users and university students snapped up the “breakthrough internet devices” only to find that, because the iPhone and iPod Touch didn’t support the 802.1x protocol, they couldn’t connect to some very large Wi-Fi networks.

Posts piled up on Apple’s Discussion Boards, feature requests and bug reports flooded in (I know I sent one!), and, as of the SDK Roadmap event on Thursday, Apple has listened! 802.1x has been announced for firmware 2.0!

But what is it and why’s is it so important?

Let’s say you bring home a Wi-Fi router and plug it in, then find out that, because you didn’t put any type of security password on it, your neighbor has been stealing your bandwidth.

So you try WEP (wire equivalent privacy), but since it was designed by engineers and not cryptographers, your rascally neighbor can just download a little utility from the web, crack your security in under a minute, and start torrent’ing away again on your dime.

Finally, you switch to robust WPA(2) (Wi-Fi protected access) along with a monster 64 character Gibson-certified pseudo-random password and, d’oh, your neighbors locked out and the cheapskate has to pony up for his own broadband.

Now let’s say instead of your home, you’re running a business or academic institution with thousands or tens of thousands of users. You can’t just slap on a password (even a secure one), because you’d have to give it to each of those users, who could then just tell their friends, and there goes security. Worse, from an administrative perspective, anytime someone left your business or institution, you’d have to change the password and get the new one to tens of thousands of users. Nightmare.

That’s where 802.1x comes in. Rather than the router using a single ID with a single, common password, 802.1x allows for an authentication server to be running, and thus enables more powerful, flexible, and manageable Wi-Fi for very large networks.

With 802.1x any one of tens of thousands of users can connect to the authentication server, pass along a set of credentials, and be allowed onto the network (or rejected if the credentials fail).

And with late June’s 2.0 firmware update, tens of thousands of users will be doing just that, at long last, on the iPhone and iPod Touch.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iPhone 2.0: 802.1x a Win for Business and Universities

I’ve learned why the iPod Touch was snuck through without any leaks to the FCC. The trick of the trade is to certify only the wi-fi chip module that went into the iPod touch. Once that module was certified by the FCC, Apple could put it into whatever device it pleases, as long as that wi-fi module is the only transmitter present. If Apple wanted to add another radio transmitter (such as a Bluetooth chip for stereo Bluetooth / A2DP), they would have to recertify the new device.

Also of note, if Apple is planning a new 3G phone like the rumors say, they will have to recertify the iPhone 3G with the FCC. It’s worth noting that when Apple started testing their iPhone International, nothing new popped up at the FCC.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Apple Keeps it Like a Secret

Holy smokes! Apple has put a $200 price cut on the 8 GB iPhone, and dropped the 4GB version altogether. That’s right, the 8GB iPhone is now $399. Where do I line up for my $200 check? I’m equal parts filled with rage for paying a $200 early adopter fee, and equal parts filled with glee for a $200 price cut. I’m glad that it makes the iPhone that much more accessible for everyone else. I just feel a little sore when I sit, that’s all.

I have colleagues that believe the price cut is a portent of a hardware refresh. I have a hard time believing Apple would refresh their iPhone hardware so soon after launch, but I should float the idea out as speculation. I believe a 3G version is possible, perhaps in the 1st or 2nd quarter of 2008. The part of me that hopes I’m wrong is the part of me that wants my iPhone to be new forever. Sigh

There’s an iTunes update tonight that will bring Ringtones support. For a select portion of their music catalog (about 500,000 songs altogether, or 8% of the songs available on iTunes), you can make a ringtone if you’ve already purchased the song. All in all, the song to play on the iPod and the song to play as a ringtone is $1.98. Song portion: $.99, same as always. Ringtone: $.99. I think the extra fee is for the ‘public performance’ licensing aspect of ringtones. It will be interesting to see if the iTunes update breaks iToner, iFuntastic, or the indomitable iPhoneRingtoneMaker. Let’s hope not.

The iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store will come to the iPhone in an update later this month. Look for it on a Tuesday afternoon this month, I’d bet. You will be able to purchase any music from the iTunes store and download it via wi-fi. I doubt you will be able to purchase it via EDGE. After all, it’s not the iTunes Wireless Music Store. Why not, though? It’s easier to say, and less cumbersome to type.

The iTunes Wi-Fi Music store will also be available from a bunch of Starbucks in most areas by 2009. The Starbucks in the larger top-ten cities in the US will get the update treatment first, and Starbucks figures they’ll have “most major metro areas” by late 2008. Um, I could rollout a storewide wi-fi network faster than that.

In other iPod news, Steve announced the iPod sister to the iPhone, the iPhone touch (8GB for $299 and 16GB is $399), to be available later this month. It’s slightly smaller, you’ll note from the picture above, and its application functionality has obviously not been totally disclosed. Notably missing from the iPod Touch thus far is a notes app and a maps app…. Hmmm.

The iPod, newly rechristened the iPod Classic, saw updates bringing a new, drastically thinner 80GB version ($249) and a thinner-than-the-previously-thickest 80GB version is the 160 GB version ($349).

The new iPod Nano, regarded by many as an ugly duckling, gets the full iPod treatment. It gains a video-quality screen, and is available in 4GB ($149) and 8GB ($199) versions, and it still works with the Nike+iPod sport kit. As you can see in the picture from Apple’s website above, it’s a little wee thing, absolutely tiny.

Huh. Apple’s iPod lineup looks like a steamroller right now. The Zune, Creative Zen, Sony Walkman line, et al, all look like bumpy roads waiting to be flattened this holiday season.

[via, via, via]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

8GB iPhone: $399, Ringtones