News

If you're one of the millions of iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS owners who have updated to iOS 4.3, you may have found the battery on your device drains noticeably faster that it did before. This isn't the first time Apple firmware updates have changed battery consumption, but luckily there seems to be an easy way to improve the situation.

Ping has been cited by Pocket-lint as a possible culprit on the iPad, iPod touch and iPhones running iOS 4.3. The software runs Apple's iTunes-based social networking service, which makes it possible to connect with friends and get related music recommendations. For those who use the service this battery fix won't help, but if you don't find Ping useful then you can turn it off.

AT&T has thrown down the gauntlet, sending a limited number of subscribers warnings via email and SMS to stop unauthorized tethering. The wireless carrier plans to automatically sign up users for its DataPro and Personal Hotspot plans if they continue to tether their devices without contacting the company.

The move is a first for AT&T since they launched official Personal Hotspot support on March 11 with the release of iOS 4.3. Prior to this, iPhone users could only connect one computer to the iPhone. The new service makes it possible to share your 3G data connection with 3 devices at the same time via WI-Fi, and connect to others with Bluetooth and USB.

In an official statement issued yesterday, Apple has refuted the results of a study by Blaze.io -- a mobile optimization company -- which claim that web browsing on Android is 50% faster than on the iPhone. According to Apple, the study's conclusions are invalid because the tests involved failed to test web browsing through the iPhone's Safari browser. Instead, the Blaze.io test evaluated iPhone web browsing speed through the iPhone's embedded browser, a container/tool for displaying web content made available to developers of iPhone web and native applications.

Rovio has released 15 new levels to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in their Angry Birds Seasons game. The level pack is complete with Leprechaun hat-wearing pigs and birds, shamrocks, pots of gold and Irish theme music. Those who already own the app can get the update for free.

Everyone else has to fork out $0.99 for the Seasons version of the game, which now includes levels for Halloween, Christmas and Valentine's Day in addition to St. Patrick's Day. All four holiday updates have added over 100 new levels to the original Angry Birds game.

Now iPhone owners have another way to join Android users in a video chat. Qik Video Connect Plus has been released on iTunes for $2.99. A free version is in the works and is currently being reviewed by Apple. For those who are not familiar with Qik, the app offers an alternative to FaceTime and has been pre-installed on many Android devices.

Besides real-time video calling, Qik offers a variety of other features. Video mail messages can be sent to friends, and live video can be broadcast on the web for your contacts to watch live. The plus version of Qik includes real-time video effects, syncing with the camera roll and support for HD video.