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- How and Why You Should Encrypt Your iOS Backups
If you’re security conscious, or you just want your personal data to be safer, you can encrypt the backups iTunes creates of your iOS devices. You may have heard about this for the first time in the wake of the location info storage debacle Apple faced this past week. When your backups are encrypted, to access them, a password will need to be entered, hopefully keeping your info secure.
Why You Should Encrypt
Encrypting your backups means that you’re taking security of your personal information such as email account passwords or contact information one step further. It won’t be enough for someone to simply get hold of your computer and look through your iPhone or iPad backups, since they’ll need a password to use them.
Encrypting your backup also protects other people from accessing the location data which is stored on your iPhone. The log of location info is backed up along with everything else, so encrypting your backup is a way to stop anyone from looking at the data. Of course, the location data probably isn’t going to help anyone much, but if you’re worried about it, this will help.
There are other, non-security related reasons to encrypt your backups, too. If you restore a new iOS device from a backup of an old one, usually passwords such as mail account passwords aren’t stored, and you’ll have to enter them again on the new device. However, if your backup was encrypted, the passwords will be kept, making the transition to a new device that much easier.
How to Encrypt Your Backups
It’s incredibly simple to start encrypting your iOS backups. Connect your device to iTunes, then click its name in the sidebar. Navigate to the Summary tab and at the bottom find the section called Options.
The last checkbox in this section is labelled Encrypt iPhone (or iPad) Backup. Check that box, and a dialog will appear asking for a password for the backup. Enter a password and click Set Password. I don’t suggest ticking “Remember this password in my keychain”, since that defeats the purpose of setting a password in the first place. (Saving the password in the keychain means that it is saved on your Mac and will be entered automatically). Of course, you may wish to tick this anyway, since to access the keychain, you have to enter your computer’s password.
Now if you try to restore a device from the backup, iTunes will ask for the password, meaning only you can use the backup for anything useful. Plus, the data in the backup is encrypted too, meaning it won’t make any sense if someone somehow opens it without using iTunes.
Related content from GigaOM Pro (subscription req'd):
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- A Global Mobile Handset Platform Forecast, 2011 – 2015
Переслать - AVPlayerHD Unlocks the Power of Apple's Dual-Core A5 for HD Video
Support for non-native video formats on the iPad and iPhone has been somewhat of an issue since the introduction of both devices. Users with existing libraries that work with their televisions or other streaming devices often have to spend a lot of time converting their content to formats that will work on iOS devices. But Apple started letting third-party apps that play files like DivX-encoded AVIs into the App Store not too long ago, and one of those, AVPlayerHD, got an update this week that makes it pretty much perfect.
AVPlayerHD($2.99), like the now-removed VLC for iPad and a number of other video player apps, allows you to sideload your own movie files using iTunes’ File Sharing feature for iOS devices, or you can use your browser to transfer files over Wi-Fi from your computer to your iPad. The app supports XVID/DivX files, AVI, WMV and MKV files, and can even use external subtitle files in SMI, SRT, TXT and other formats.
It also offers a number of other attractive features, like support for TV out, AirPlay, playback ratio selection, folders and playback speed control. Like most other video player apps, AVPlayerHD had trouble with HD content, though, until a recent update that introduced support for full dual-core processing on the iPad 2. Now, any HD file you want to play back (even those tricky .MKV files) play smoothly (at least the 720p backups I created did) on Apple’s latest tablet device.
The multi-format video player category has become a crowded field on the iPad, but thanks to this update, AVPlayerHD is now the most useful of the bunch, especially if you’re an iPad 2 owner. If you have a considerable existing video archive (perhaps one backed up from your physical Blu-rays or DVDs), or if you’d just rather shop somewhere other than iTunes for your video content, this app does a lot to help alleviate the incredible additional annoyance of having to reconvert those movies to play on your iOS devices. It also shows that the A5 found in the iPad 2 (and hopefully, the next iPhone, too) is more than equal to the task of doing some heavy lifting with rich media content.
Related content from GigaOM Pro (subscription req'd):
- Mobile Q1: All Eyes on Tablets, T-Mobile and AT&T
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Переслать - What Should Apple's iCloud Look Like?
Friday morning, John Paczkowski of Digital Daily confirmed Om’s report earlier this week that Apple acquired the domain name iCloud.com. Apple has acquired and not used domain names in the past, but if Cupertino is planning to use the iCloud brand, what should that trademark encompass?
There’s already plenty of speculation out there about what plans Apple might have in store for cloud service offerings. A revamped MobileMe complete with iOS device remote media streaming of your photos and music is one frequently mentioned possibility. Clues that a service called Photo Stream is coming to iOS have already showed up in code from Apple’s mobile operating system, and rumblings that a cloud music storage and remote streaming service is on its way are only getting louder.
Apple also probably won’t take away any of the existing service it already offers. It’s currently in the process of moving all MobileMe Calendar data to remote server storage, and cross-device email, notes and address book syncing also seem like likely candidates for any larger cloud service package from Cupertino. Indeed, AppleInsider is now reporting this is in fact the case.
But what else do you want from a cloud service offering from Apple? Are the existing MobileMe offerings even something you’re interested in? Are mobile bandwidth costs a concern? Should Apple’s cloud plans include a basic free offering, and what extras, if any, would you be willing to pay for?
Related content from GigaOM Pro (subscription req'd):
- Mobile Q1: All Eyes on Tablets, T-Mobile and AT&T
- A Media Tablet Forecast, 2011 – 2015
- A Global Mobile Handset Platform Forecast, 2011 – 2015
Переслать - Apple Looking to Help iOS Users Get Fit?
Thursday, Apple filed a patent application for “personalized fitness services” on a handheld device, focusing on exercise in a gym setting. Features would include how-to videos for equipment, as well as the ability to check on classes and possibly schedule training sessions.
Social networking would also play a role in the app, with possible features including finding a “workout buddy,” as well as leaderboards. Users could also be challenged to “beat” workouts by others through notifications. Performance would also be measured, and results delivered as post-workout critiques, which would be part of the “motivating” aspect of the app. If simple self-improvement was insufficient, the patent application also includes the idea of rewards outside the app in the form of coupons or gifts.
While this sounds like an interesting idea, the obvious drawback is that necessary equipment would include a compatible gym to get the most out of the app. Considering that to date Apple has published just ten apps for the iPhone and iPod touch, a fitness app requiring a special gym seems an odd choice for the 11th.
However, as can be seen in the diagram, Nike is mentioned, a fitness company that Apple has had a product partnership with since 2006. That relationship lends credence to this patent application being more than just a vague idea. Would you be interested in such an app, even if it meant finding and belonging to a gym that supported it?
Related content from GigaOM Pro (subscription req'd):
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Переслать - White iPhone Launch Notes: Lines in China, Ship Times Slip, Thickness
Apple finally launched the white iPhone 4 yesterday, and despite being just a new look for a phone that’s nearly a year old (in a market where the vast majority of smartphone users feel obsolescence sneaks up quick), it made quite the splash. Some things aren’t exactly the same, either: the iPhone gained a little girth when it went white.
As mentioned yesterday, the white iPhone 4 did generate some lines, especially in Asia. In Beijing, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, lines were very long, reaching into the hundreds. Of the few reports of lines at North American locations, the longest seems to have reached around 10 people. It’s worth noting that the black iPhone 4 went on sale in China in September 2010, while in the U.S., it has been available since June. Conceivably, that could mean that U.S. buyers had more time to give in and buy the black iPhone rather than wait for the white model.
But it’s also a sign that Apple’s priorities may soon shift, as China and other emerging markets represent the largest potential growth markets for the company. Apple saw huge growth for the iPhone in China last quarter, and Strategy Analytics just released a report showing Apple has passed ZTE Corp. to become the world’s largest handset maker as measured by shipments, for the first calendar quarter of 2011. ZTE is a Chinese phone maker, and arguably Apple’s biggest competition in the Chinese market.
The white iPhone definitely appears to be selling well in at least a few markets other than China, too, since ship times for the device have slipped to five business days from three to five days in some international stores, such as those in Italy, the U.K., France and Spain. Apple typically prioritizes the U.S. when it comes to device shipments, so slipping ship times don’t necessarily indicate that those countries are the ones experiencing the strongest sales.
Finally, users who’ve had the chance to compare the white and black iPhones side-by-side have noted that the white version is just a hair thicker than the black one: 0.2 mm thicker, to be exact. It makes Apple’s marketing claim that the iPhone 4 is “the world’s thinnest smartphone” just a little less accurate than it had recently become. No word on what’s behind the extra girth, as Apple’s website still lists the official specs for both at the same at 0.37 inches. It could be that the extra UV protection the white paint requires accounts for some additional thickness. Reports so far suggest that the extra thickness isn’t significantly affecting the fit of most cases, but you should double-check before you buy one just to make sure.
The white iPhone 4 may be just a color change for a 10-month old device, but its reception provides a hint at the future of a possible shift in Apple’s primary buying public, and its production demonstrates Apple’s continued dedication to getting product design right prior to release. In the end, nobody can pull off new paint on an old barn quite like Apple.
Related content from GigaOM Pro (subscription req'd):
- A Global Mobile Handset Platform Forecast, 2011 – 2015
- In Q4, Data Was Mobile’s Hot Spot
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