Future iOS Updates May Be Delivered Over the Air

The days of cumbersome and lengthy iOS updates via the standard USB-to-computer iTunes connection may be coming to an end, possibly before the end of the year. The blogosphere is buzzing this morning with speculation born of new revelations from *quot;sources*quot; speaking in confidence to our friends at 9 to 5 Mac. According to information they possess, Apple is planning to deliver iOS updates over the air beginning this fall.

The next major iOS upgrade - and it will be a hefty one - should propel the iDevice universe into iOS 5-land. Once iOS 5 is made available, subsequent software updates may be delivered to the iPhone over the air.

In this regard, however, Apple isn't ahead of the curve, it's actually playing catch-up. Given that a number of rival smartphones already offer over-the-air operating system updates, Apple will simply be striving to better compete with other handsets and technologies that, at present, are superior to Apple's iOS in some regards.

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Obviously, if this is a feature in iOS 5, it should conceivably make its way to iPad and iPod touches as well. That means iTunes may no longer be a needed conduit for updating iOS devices in the future. It would also mean that the iPad could finally be a stand alone device.
Of course, Apple would likely have to change to a considerable degree how frequently it delivers software updates - updates that will now have to come in much smaller download packages. After all, many of us had a chuckle at Engadget's jab at yesterday's release of iOS 4.3.3, which delivered a sizable 666.2 MB file to update iPhones to a version that only accomplishes the *quot;removal of things.*quot;

Source: 9to5Mac

'Paper iPhone' to Debut Next Week at the Computer Human Interaction Conference

Get ready for what could be a look into the future of smartphones - a distant look, that is. Next week at the Association for Computing Machinery's Computer Human Interaction conference in Vancouver, a remarkable prototype for what's been dubbed a *quot;paper iPhone*quot; will be demonstrated by its creator Roel Vertegaal, the director of Queen's University Human Media Lab.

According to published reports ahead of the formal May 10th unveiling of the PaperPhone - its actual name - the device is a
*quot;pocket-sized computer as thin and flexible as a sheet of paper is.*quot; Although a lone prototype of the smartphone presently exists, the ingenious researchers behind the invention say the smartphone could *quot;revolutionize the way we interact with computers.*quot;

Then again, if you think Apple products are sensitive to water damage now, just imagine the problems this little beauty would have. Nonetheless, the device in question *quot;is a flexible version of e-ink, the digital ink screen found in e-readers such as the Amazon Kindle.*quot; So advanced is the design, however, that it may take another five to ten years before a company - possibly Apple - could introduce it to the mass market.

*quot;This computer looks, feels and operates like a small sheet of interactive paper,” said Vertegaal. “You interact with it by bending it into a cell phone, flipping the corner to turn pages, or writing on it with a pen.*quot; Incredibly, a brief demo reel of the prototype already exists. To better understand the (possible) future of flexible smartphones, check out the clip posted above.

Source: MSNBC