Apple

Could the iPhone 5 and iPad 2 let you mix and match operators according to your location, making them true world-roaming devices? That's what we're wondering after finding out that the new Verizon iPhone 4 includes Qualcomm's MDM6600 Gobi chip.

Why? Let us explain. Apple is famously unwilling to cough up too much information on which chips are inside its devices, meaning the only way to find out is to rip them apart. 9 to 5 Mac and iFixyouri have done just that for the new iPhone 4 model, revealing the Gobi chip.

Are we just a couple of days away from the official launch of the Apple iPad 2 and the iOS 4.3 final version? Is February 9th indeed the big day when Apple will pull the cover off of its iPad 2? It is hard to believe that we are already so close to the event, but knowing Apple and how they love to steal the spotlight (or ruin the event, depends on the way you see it)from every major launch event, this could be well true.

iFixit has gotten its hands on the CDMA-equipped iPhone 4 and taken it apart to see what Apple has changed from the original GSM-based iPhone 4. Apple has swapped out the original vibrator for a revised "smoother" version, and made changes on the logic board to accommodate a new Qualcomm baseband processor compatible with CDMA networks like Verizon. The most interesting revelation, however, is that the Qualcomm chip that Apple used is capable of both CDMA and GSM communication.

Itching to install iOS 4.3 on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad? Assuming you haven't already bagged the developer beta version of Apple's new software, you shouldn't have long to wait: iOS 4.3 is expected to be made available in the next ten days.

The latest beta version of Apple's mobile operating system has offered up some useful information related to the forthcoming iPad 2.

Mac blogger Chris Galzerano has had a tinker about in the innards of the developer release and believes he has unearthed some clues about the much-predicted iPad 2's technical specifications.

Apple has enlisted SCC as its first Apple Authorised Systems Integrator in the UK, paving the way for a more focused sales strategy in the corporate market, especially with the launch of the iPad 2 a few weeks away.

According to Microscope, the reseller which is part of the SCH group and based in Birmingham will dedicate at least 50 staff dedicated to selling Apple products and services.

Apple's third beta of iOS 4.3 is now in the hands of developers. This new beta includes three separate packages: iOS, the SDK, and Apple TV Software. Typically, Apple releases three betas to its developers before seeding a Gold Master. This latest beta feels snappier and more polished, as well as introduces a welcome surprise.

The former Chronic Dev-Team meember who has found many exploits in the iOS firmwares, Pod2g recently tweeted that he has found a new untethered jailbreak vulnerability. It is still unclear whether this untethered vulnerability is found in bootrom or in the iOS 4.3 or 4.2.1 firmware. For those of you unfamiliar with the lingo, a jailbreak vulnerability is not an exploit. Hackers first find a vulnerability then work on it to develop an exploit. The exploit is then used in a jailbreak tool to jailbreak an iOS device such as an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch.

Apple’s new security chief, David Rice, has some interesting views on how to improve software security – in particular a vulnerability tax concept.

The soon-to-be global security head believes such a tax could be handled in the same way as pollution, making companies pay for the amount of environmental damage they caused.

Smuggling mobile phones through airports can be a risky business, although the risk will be mitigated by choosing airports known to have weaker security. If you seek to smuggle a large number of phones through an airport then, it would be wise to avoid Israel's Ben-Gurion International Airport, which is famous for having particularly effective security.

Last week, an Israeli woman in her 60s was therefore stopped on a return flight from London with a total of 44 Apple iPhones hidden in her stockings under her clothes.