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Pretty soon Passbook users will have another place to flash their iPhone for payment, at Apple retail stores. The EasyPay system already in place at Apple's stores will be updated by the end of October with Passbook support.

Although the initial launch may be limited to using prepaid gift cards, once the framework is in place Apple could expand its capabilities. With over 400 million active iTunes accounts linked to credit cards, Apple could accept payment from customers using an Apple ID.

Ever since the iPhone 5 launch, Apple's Maps application has come under fire as one of the top five iPhone 5 complaints. Google Maps fans miss street view and transit directions, and some have experienced other glitches as Apple continues to work on the software. Added functionality from Apple such as turn-by-turn navigation and Flyover mode have made it easier to accept the new Maps.

Rumors have been bouncing around that Google would attempt to release its own stand-alone iOS app to compete with the native Apple version. Whether or not Apple will approve such an app remains to be seen. The images above are purportedly of the alpha version of Google Maps currently in development. Assuming these are genuine, Google is in fact working on a Google Maps application for iOS.

With all of the different iOS jailbreak tools available and so many Apple mobile devices floating around, it's become quite a task to keep track of everything. Firmware and hardware versions come in many flavors, so how can you know that your specific configuration can be jailbroken?

Now there's an easy to use web app that will quickly let you know whether or not the iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch you're holding can be used to install the Cydia jailbreak app store. Right now the JailbreakStats web app includes information for devices running firmware iOS 5.0 and later.

The iPhone Dev-Team has released redsn0w version 0.9.15b1. The update brings a lot of changes for restoring to older firmware. It also now includes Cydia for the tethered iOS 6 jailbreak on A4 devices. iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 owners can learn how to jailbreak their devices running iOS 6 by clicking here.

The changelog has a lot of information. The Dev-Team suggests visiting the comments section on their blog if you're confused or have any questions. This is also where you can get the download links for redsnn0w v.0.9.15b1.

"We realize there’s a lot of info in this post. If you’re at all confused about things remember to visit our comments section, with our very helpful user base and moderators like dhlizard, Frank55, 41willys, and slavakulikoff."

One of the more interesting features that came along with the iPhone 5 launch is the built-in Panorama option in iOS 6. Consisting of high quality photos stitched together on the fly, Apple's panoramic images come in at around 17 MB (with a resolution of 10,800 x 2332 pixels). Accessing panoramic mode is simple, just open the Camera and tap Options. Touch the grey Panorama button in the middle of the screen and a white arrow appears.

One useful tip comes into play before you start recording the panorama. Tapping the white arrow will change its direction, which allows the panorama to be recorded from either left to right, or right to left. Depending on how the scene is laid out, what the ambient lighting looks like, and your position, sometimes switching directions can result in a better image.