iPhone 5 May Get Text-to-Speech and Speech-to-Text Feature

So now, we might get a new feature of Text to Speech in the next generation iPhone by Apple. The Patently Apple reports, Apple has filed a patent application for a system that provides you the ability of converting text to speech and vice versa on iPhone. The system for Apple filed a patent, would be also helpful in loudy background environment and as well as at those places where user can't talk loudly.
According to a new Apple patent application that was published this morning by the US Patent and Trademark Office, future iPhone's are likely to provide end users with effective new ways of communicating in both noisy environments like a restaurant or even during a quiet office meeting without stirring a mouse.

For this purpose, Apple might add a new sensor in handset for noise detection. And the new system will work like this; when the user at loudy environment, the iPhone automatically convert the speech from the end into the text. And when user less noisy environment i.e meeting, iPhone will allow user to write text, which would be converted to speech and send to the other end. Here's more on the iPhone 5 news

[via hackphone]

Dual sim iPhone 5?

Another new rumor being circulated now by iDealsChina, a Chinese smartphone parts reseller, is that the upcoming iPhone 5 will have two SIM card trays to support dual-SIM cards.

iDealsChina believes this feature will make it possible for owners of the iPhone5 to contain two service lines which could operate two sim numbers at the same time.

This freture would be great for travellers who could use a home sim for their home network and a global sim that will allow for roaming. Also, employees could use their iphone 5g for work on one sim and for business on another.

The rumor presented by iDealsChina seems a bit dubious, though, and 9to5 Mac has chimed in with their own theory, suggesting that the iPhone 5 will be a world phone sporting Qualcomm's Gobi chip, which will combine CDMA and GSM support into a singular design.

This means that the iPhone 5 could either be used on Verizon's CDMA network or AT&T's GSM network in the States, and could also roam to any country using either CDMA or GSM technologies. Whether the feature will allow dual or simultaneous services through different carriers is possible is uncertain, but if the iPhone 5 does allow simultaneous carrier services, you could theoretically have a Verizon and AT&T number all on one device.

Here's more on the iPhone 5 news

The White iPhone Hero

An interesting and somewhat funny piece of information that iDB reader @EpicGameReviews sent us about the white iPhone 4. If you go to Apple's website, right click on the image of the white iPhone 4 on the homepage, and select "view image" or "image info", you will see how Apple named the image: white_iphone_hero_20110425.jpg.

Does Apple really consider the white iPhone 4 as a hero? I highly doubt it. Does Apple web team have a funny sense of humor? Most likely…

UPDATE: Thanks iDB readers for pointing out how ignorant I am. I had absolutely no idea what a hero shot was until today. But hey, to my defense, I'm French and I'm still learning English everyday. Especially today </embarrassed face>It's always nice to see larger companies joking around a little bit.

What says you?

How Does AT&T Detect Unofficial iPhone Tethering?

As we've reported earlier, AT&T continues to clamp down on unofficial iPhone tethering, which is one of the main reasons users jailbreak their iPhone.

There has been a lot of debate and speculation on how AT&T detects the unofficial iPhone tethering. Android Police has provided some insight into how AT&T is able to identify users who are using the unofficial tethering option. Android Police explains:

Jailbroken iPhones typically use the same tethering technique as a standard iPhone, the one that's already present in iOS. This method exposes tethering activity quite readily, because the iPhone, when in tethering mode, sends traffic through an alternate APN (AT&T access point/router) for the express purpose of identifying the traffic as tethered data. This makes it extremely easy for AT&T to identify whether or not an iOS device is utilizing tethering, and just how much of their data is consumed via tethering.

Some tethering applications for iOS make use of alternative methods and route tethered traffic through the phone's normal data APN, but by and large, most jailbreakers stick with the stock application because it's easy to use and doesn't require any complicated setup. In fact, many iPhone users jailbreak for the sole purpose of avoiding AT&T's tethering fees (for why, see next section). These are the people AT&T's is going after.

According to Android Police, popular jailbreak apps such as MyWi and Tetherme use the tethering APN instead of using the normal data APN.

It's not clear if PdaNet that has been updated recently to hide unofficial tethering by masking the packets uses iPhone's normal data APN to go undetected (assuming it does). If PdaNet's solution works then we're quite sure that other developers will soon release an updated version of their jailbreak apps to stay ahead of the cat and mouse game with AT&T.

It is unfortunate that carriers are charging users for the tethering option or don't allow some features or apps to work to use iPhone's 3G data connection (work only over Wi-Fi). Ideally, we should be able to use the data the way we want as we've paid for it.

What do you think?

iPhone 5 Unlock news

If you have spent your hard earned cash to buy the latest iPhone 5 then I'm sure that you want to get the most out of your money and that is why an iPhone 5 unlock is important. But before you can unlock you need to jailbreak your iPhone 5 first. The first thing you need to do is look at the benefits.

Save Money with an Unlocking iPhone 5

The majority of people look for unlock solutions because it allows them to use any SIM card they choose. Perhaps you are one of these people who wants to get rid of the monthly charge and perhaps use VoIP instead of a major carrier. This of course saves you a great deal of money too.

Another benefit is of course that you get access to a lot of great features with an iPhone 5 unlocked and these include video recording, tethering or modem access via blue tooth for your computer, multi format video play back and GPS navigation. These are just some of the things you will have access to when you unlock iPhone 5.

The iPhone 5 is an amazing device and to be honest with you it is like having a laptop in your hands which makes life so much easier for people on the go all the time. The main reason that people will look for an iPhone 5 unlock is so that they can save money. Most unlock solutions also include jailbreaks too and this of course is an amazing benefit.

When you unlock iPhone 5 you can choose the carrier you want. You get to make cheap calls when you want and of course this unlock will work worldwide which means that you never have to pay for roaming charges again. It really does make perfect sense.

Why to Unlock iPhone 5

With the iPhone 5 unlock you gain access to so many great features. You get a digital camera, a modem and much more. Apple tries to make you pay for all these features by getting their programmers to develop apps that you have to pay for and what they don't want you to know is that with an iPhone 5 unlock you will have the ability to use free programs that will do this too.

Apple like being in control and that is why they lock their iPhones to particular carriers and why they don't allow users to install apps they haven't approved. It is all a control thing on their part but when you use an iPhone5 unlock you take the control back. You get to choose your carrier and you get to install the apps that you want to install without having to get approval from Apple first. In fact, a lot of the best iPhone 5 apps are ones that Apple haven't approved and with an iPhone 5g unlock you will have the power to use them.

Screw iPhone 5 rumors, the nano may be getting games

iPod nano rumors seem to be heating up this week. It started with a "leaked" nano case that shows off a rear-facing camera. Now, a patent has surfaced that shows the iPod nano not only gaining a camera, but also motion sensors and games.

Yup, you read that right.Video games on your nano. It wouldn't be the first time that Apple managed to sneak games onto an iPod with a small screen. The original iPod shipped with a hidden edition of Brick, a game originally developed by Steve Wozniak. Down the road Apple also added Parachute, Solitaire, and Music Quiz. Then it was officially game on time. Apple announced in September 2006 that games would be coming to the iTunes store and would include 9 other games for the iPod, including Bejewled. Again, it should be noted that these games did not require iOS and shipped long before both iPod touch and iPhone.

 

It seems that Apple's at least thinking about bringing games of this variety back to the iPod nano. Not every patent filed by Apple comes to fruition, so there's also a chance that this doesn't happen at all. That being said, there are a couple of things I wouldn't mind seeing in a new updated iPod nano.

1. FaceTime. The ability to take FaceTime calls from my iWatch would fantastic.
2. iOS notifications. James Gifford brought this one up in the comments a couple of days ago. The more I think of it, the more I think he's on to something. Imagine getting your iOS notifications to your iWatch? Missed calls, appointment reminders, and text messages would be fantastic on my wrist. FANTASTIC.

Apple MacBooks Have Thunderbolt, iPhone 5 Possible feature

Apple has just introduced Thunderbolt technology into its iMacs and MacBooks so it stands to reason that the iPhone 5 could possibly feature this new port. The latest news surrounding the Web comes via GizmoCrunch by way of SemiAccurate reporting that the iPhone5 could incorporate Thunderbolt technology, it seems that Mini-Displayport could be replaced with Thunderbolt I/O port (Light Peak) to give customers a much faster data transfer speed as well as charge up times simultaneously.

If you look below this news article we have put a poll together asking what port would you like featured on the upcoming September release Apple iPhone 5, please take a look at the different options and please vote your favourite.

Thunderbolt will give you better speeds than others such as USB2 and USB3, obviously the iPhone 5 will not give you speeds like the MacBook Pro, MacBook air or iMacs that would be crazy to think that, but even so Thunderbolt port on the iPhone 5g would be a stunning addition.

Please check out our poll setup below and vote now, thanks for joining in.