Tipb Answers

Why Facebook and other apps sometimes say "Cleaning..."

By Rene Ritchie, Thursday, Dec 22, 2011 a 9:21 am

With iOS 5 it's not uncommon to sometimes see the label under many apps, including Facebook, sometimes change to read "Cleaning..." This is a feature of iOS 5 that Apple hasn't really explained, so it's caused a lot of you to write in an ask about it. Here's the deal...

Basically, that's iOS 5 deleting cache and temporary files so that when iCloud or iTunes does a backup of your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad, that backup is smaller and faster.

AT&T vs. Verizon vs. Sprint: Which iPhone 4S should you choose?

By Leanna Lofte, Thursday, Oct 6, 2011 a 11:05 pm

Once you've decided you should get an iPhone 4S, in the US the question becomes -- AT&T, Verizon, or Sprint, which carrier should you choose? Back in January we compared the AT&T iPhone to the Verizon iPhone, and if you're already tied to one carrier and don't want to pay early termination fees, the decision may be easy; if not, the information can be daunting and overwhelming. TiPb is here to help!

To see a breakdown of prices and features, follow along after the break!

Should you get an iPhone 4S?

By Rene Ritchie, Thursday, Oct 6, 2011 a 10:40 pm

Should you upgrade from whatever you have now to an iPhone 4S? The answer to that depends entirely on what exactly you have now, or whether any of the features of iPhone 4S are compelling enough to makes it worth upgrading regardless of what you have now.

Read on for the full breakdown.

Typical iOS release cycle (or, how many betas?)

By Rene Ritchie, Saturday, Aug 6, 2011 a 6:03 pm

One of the questions we're getting asked increasingly often is how many betas Apple will put out before the official iOS 5 release. There's no way to know, of course, because Apple is a secretive company that almost never pre-announces anything. However, with past behavior being a fairly good indicator of future behavior, we can look at previous iOS beta cycles and try to determine a rough schedule.

TiPb Answers: How iMessage works [FAQ]

By Rene Ritchie, Wednesday, Jun 15, 2011 a 1:32 pm

127

We're getting tons and tons of questions about iOS 5's new iMessage, how it works, where it sends to, and how to avoid sending to the wrong person or device. Apple hasn't given out a lot of details about it yet, but based on what they showed on the keynote and how they've previously handled user and device ID, we can make some guesses. Now if it looks a little complex... wellafter the break!

TiPb Answers: Why over-the-air iOS updates matter

By Rene Ritchie, Thursday, May 5, 2011 a 12:42 pm

With rumors that Apple might be exploring over-the-air (OTA) updates for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch in iOS 5, we're going to take the opportunity to go over how OTA updates work, what the advantages and disadvantages are (there's always a mix of both), and why they should matter to you.

For the answer, follow on after the break.

Should you upgrade from the original iPad to iPad 2?

By Georgia, Monday, Mar 7, 2011 a 10:06 pm

We posted our iPad Buyers Guide earlier today but have since gotten quite a few emails asking whether or not original iPad owners should upgrade to iPad 2? There are only a few big differences between the original iPad and iPad 2 so the question comes down to whether or not any one (or more) of them are compelling enough to warrant an upgrade.

We'll take a look at them and help you decide after the break!

TiPb Answers: Causes of Wi-Fi interference

By Georgia, Tuesday, Feb 22, 2011 a 12:00 pm

iPhone, iPod touch and iPad all have Wi-Fi radios in them and anything with a radio can suffer from interference. Some causes of interference are relatively simple, such as "holding it wrong". Others may not be so obvious, such as being close to the microwave. Here TiPb goes through some of the common reasons that your Wi-Fi signal may have issues such as decreased wireless range, decreased network data speed, and even a complete loss of connectivity. We'll also offer some fixes... after the break!

[Apple Support]

TiPb Answers: Verizon iPhone and the limitations of CDMA

By Rene Ritchie, Monday, Feb 14, 2011 a 10:56 am

While many have been waiting a long time for the Verizon iPhone, the same CDMA network that gives Verizon its terrific coverage and reliability brings with it a host of other problems, including the famous lack of simultaneous voice and data and limited international roaming, but also some lesser known issues such as split SMS messages and greatly reduced conference calling options.

None of these are new to the Verizon iPhone but they are new to iPhone now that it's on Verizon, and new to users who haven't experienced CDMA before. We'll take a look at them after the break.

TiPb Answers: Verizon iPhone, antennagate, and death-touch vs. death-grip

By Rene Ritchie, Tuesday, Feb 8, 2011 a 11:22 pm

Does the Verizon iPhone suffer from the same "death-touch" issue as the AT&T/GSM iPhone, the one that led to a month of media frenzy and an Apple "antennagate" press conference?

Not so far. That's the short answer. For the long answer, including an explanation of death-touch vs. death-grip and what, if anything this means for Verizon iPhone users, follow on after the break...