A new Apple patent filing describes a variety of methods to protect a dropped iPhone during a fall, lessening damage through a number of clever systems. The USPTO filing, spotted by AppleInsider, includes a rotational mechanism to change the orientation of a falling iPhone, for instance, as well as on-device thrusters, and a way to clamp down on inserted cables when a fall is detected. → Read More
Apple has just issued an update for iOS devices, iOS 6.1.3, which fixes the lock screen bug we described in a previous post that would allow someone to bypass the lock and access the Phone app and potentially private information. It also brings improvements to the Maps apps specific to Japan, and contains additional “security improvements” and “bug fixes.” → Read More
Smartphones have a lot of on-board sensors, but do they really have enough? No way, say a slew of recent hardware startups, of which Danish Vavuud is only the most recent. Vavuud is turning to Kickstarter to help build a smartphone-compatible wind meter, one that miraculously contains no electronics and yet still can communicate accurate wind speed measurements wirelessly to iPhones and Galaxy… → Read More
An iPhone app called Awesome Baby Names has a secret Game Boy Advance emulator built into it, as 9to5Mac has discovered. The emulator is easily unlocked via a simple sequence of taps (depicted below), but if you do want to unlock it you’d better get it quick because Apple is sure to pull this one quickly. → Read More
A lot of headlines have focused on the new Galaxy S4 as a potential iPhone challenger in terms of hype and mindshare, but mobile ad firm Velti offers a different perspective in its February summary of global exchange data from its network. The company still sees iOS and iPhone dominating among mobile advertisers, despite the rising tide of Android devices. → Read More
The low-cost iPhone of fable got a little more material with some reports from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Before you balk at reports from an “analyst,” note that Kuo has been spot on a number of times in the past, including when he predicted the iPhone 4S release timeline and changes, the launch of the original white iPhone 4, and the iPad 2, among others. Kuo has discussed Apple’s 2013… → Read More
Apple has a couple of new interesting glimpses into possible new future tech published by the USPTO today, including a patent application for an iPad Smart Cover with a built-in battery and induction charging, and a mobile camera design that offers true optical zoom, instead of the low-quality digital zoom we’re all used to in current devices. → Read More
Apple has indeed managed a significant turnaround in India’s smartphone market, according to new figures out from IDC today (via CNN). The Apple smartphone grabbed 15.6 percent of India’s smartphone market in Q4 2012, according to new data from the research firm, just behind market leading Samsung with its 38.8 percent, a significant change from the third quarter of last year, when IDC showed that… → Read More
Apple has been working on the iPhone since long before it hit the market in 2007, and today a new prototype has come to light that shows how it might have looked if they’d rushed it to market earlier. The 2005 internal prototype is pictured in photos obtained by Ars Technica, from an unnamed former Apple employee. → Read More
This is the first Android device I would feel comfortable using on a regular basis.
That doesn’t mean I’m going to, but I would be just fine with it.
If I had to boil down my thoughts about the Nexus 4 into two sentences, those would be them. → Read More
Apple’s iOS is consolidating its grip on the enterprise market and taking share from Android, according to customer data from enterprise file sharing and hybrid cloud storage company Egnyte. The iPhone especially has grown its proportion of business users since the second half of 2011 to-date, according to the data, while iOS devices as a whole now account for 70%+ of Egnyte’s traffic. → Read More
Google Maps for iPhone received its first significant update today, with new features that are designed to improve in-app search, making it easier to find relevant place information. Google Maps now lets you search your Google Contacts within the app, meaning if you use Google as your primary address book you’ll now be able to call up addresses even if they’re not stored locally on your phone, and… → Read More
Apple received a patent from the USPTO today (via AppleInsider) that describes a technology that would allow device casings to employ a combination of pressure and capacitive sensitivity to detect input. At the very least, the tech could be used to map functions like those Apple currently assigns to the home, power and volume buttons to areas of an iPhone or iPad’s bezel. → Read More
Ever since Google launched its Chrome browser on multiple mobile devices, more people have been getting used to syncing their desktop browsing experiences for on-the-go usage. Being able to have one browsing experience wherever you go is handy, but when a browser doesn’t move as fast as, say, Safari on the iPhone, it’s hard to dedicate yourself to making the switch. Google knows that… → Read More
Binary Formations is a husband and wife software company that has been building Home Inventory, a Mac app that makes it easy to keep a database record of your house and its contents for insurance purposes, since 2005. The two were able to quit their full-time jobs in 2009 to pursue building software full-time, adding other titles. But Home Inventory, the one that started it all, is front and… → Read More
If you’re into DSLR photography, remotely controlling the thing is a pretty common want for new users and seasoned veterans alike. Satechi’s BT Smart Trigger is a remote that works with a range of Canon cameras, connecting to the camera’s hot shoe and giving them full control over their camera’s shutter. It also doubles as an intervalometer, making it possible to get those cool time lapse and… → Read More
Big screens are the talk of the town at MWC. Got nothing else to announce that makes your handset stand out from the crowd? Throw a huge screen on the sucker. Or just put phone features in a tablet and call it a day. Apple seems to be the only smartphone OEM out there without a giant-screened smartphone, but designer Peter Zigich has created a concept of what a Cupertino phablet could look like… → Read More
NeroKwik, the cloud photo organization service from the makers of the leading disc-burning software of old, is officially debuting its iPhone and iPad app today. The iOS clients join its existing Android and online products, offering users the ability to pull in all the photos they’ve uploaded to Facebook and Google+, organize them by metadata and other criteria, and view them in ready-made… → Read More
The number of gadget-related thefts in major metropolitan areas has only continued to rise, and the number of resolved cases simply can’t keep up. However, it would appear that Apple is now working directly with the NYPD to help return iThings into the hands of their rightful owners.
The NYPD has formed an official team which will work directly with Apple to track down stolen iThings, mostly… → Read More
For almost as long as Apple’s iPhone has been in existence, analysts have claimed to see visions of a low-cost version of the device aimed at developing and prepaid markets. It’s easy to see why these visions have grown in magnitude and gained a more vocal following over the years: entering that market would, in theory, broaden Apple’s potential appeal by hundreds of millions of new customers. But… → Read More
Meet Sunrise, the calendar app that will replace every calendar app that you’ve tried so far. It’s the best calendar you’ll ever use. Behind its apparent simplicity, there’s a server component (like Mailbox), making it significantly smarter with data from Google Calendar, Facebook, LinkedIn and others. The app was made by ex-Foursquare designers who believe they may have finally figured out how to… → Read More
Once upon a time I thought I would be very short of charging solutions for my iPhone 5 thanks to the switch to Lightning. Now, for various reasons, I have an abundance of Lightning cables, one might even say an overabundance. But they do lack variety, and that’s what a new line of charging accessories from Scosche aims to address. → Read More
A new patent filing uncovered by AppleInsider today shows that the company is still thinking about ways to upgrade the smartphone camera experience and deliver the best possible pictures you can get on a mobile phone. The invention would make it so that as soon as you open up the camera app on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad, the device starts grabbing full-resolution pics and storing them to a… → Read More
With just a few quick steps, it’s easy to open the phone app on any locked iPhone running iOS 6.1. From there a person has full access to the photo library, can edit contacts, send emails, text messages or even make a FaceTime call. It’s so easy that it’s downright silly.
As shown in the video here, the process involves holding down the power button and aborting an emergency call. It… → Read More
Apple has officially lost exclusive rights over the use of the iPhone trademark in Brazil, according to the BBC. The news was telegraphed earlier via a leak that said Brazil’s regulatory body was planning to side with IGB Electronics S.A. in the case and revoke Apple’s exclusive ownership of the term “iPhone” as it relates to electronic devices. → Read More
A new patent granted to Apple today by the USPTO (via AppleInsider) describes an invention called “microslot antennas,” which would integrate cellular and wireless radio antennas directly into case materials, which could both reduce the size requirements of internal elements of a device, and also make it so that there’s no evidence on a gadget’s external case of the antenna’s presence, to the… → Read More
Basecamp, the project management platform developed by 37 Signals that launched in 2004, is still alive and kicking, which is something of a feat considering how many companies have come and gone in this space over the years. Plus, more recently, a slew of promising new players have entered the market, including Dustin Moskovitz and Justin Rosenstein’s Asana, Joel Spolsky’s Trello, Siasto and … → Read More
Apple’s next big growth market could be India – a country where it has failed to find significant purchase with consumers up until this point. The Economic Times is reporting that sales of Apple devices, with iPhones leading the way, rose by between 300 and 400 percent in the past quarter. That growth, identified by research firm IDC, is likely being propelled by Apple’s distribution… → Read More
Apple had a new patent application published by the USPTO today, describing an unlocking method for digital devices that uses image identification to properly recognize an authorized user. The system would present a user with photographs from their iPhoto or iCloud collections, and then ask them to identify who or what the subject is in order to unlock the device. The item in question could also… → Read More
Sprint Nextel, the third-ranking U.S. wireless carrier, has just announced earnings results for Q4 2012, reporting a net loss of $1.3 billion, and a negative EPS of $.44. That’s compared to a net loss of $1.3B and a diluted net loss of $.43 per share in the same quarter last year.
The company says that “$45 million or negative $.01 per share (pre-tax) was related to impacts from Hurricane… → Read More
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