• March 28th, 2013

    Manufacturers Ramping Up For June 2013 iPhone 5S Launch

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    A confidential presentation that describes a Shenzhen-based manufacturer’s 2013 product plans points to a few interesting bits of information about the iPhone 5S launch in June 2013 and Foxconn’s role as manufacturer of record for Apple products. → Read More

    March 28th, 2013

    Apple Patents iPhone With Wraparound Display, Including Designs That Plug Together Voltron-Style

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    Apple has a new patent filing just published by the USPTO today which details a wraparound-style AMOLED display that could make it possible to create an iPhone that’s almost entirely screen, with touch gestures and virtual buttons replacing physical ones completely. The patent describes designs that could have a seamless, continuous surface resembling the fourth generation iPod nano, as well as… → Read More

    March 25th, 2013

    Google+ Gets A Mobile Refresh With Photo Editing, Post Tweaks, Location And Community Controls

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    Today, Google has announced a mobile refresh for Google+ for Android and iOS that includes some of the functionality that has come out for the desktop over the past few months. Both versions will be available later in the day. Some of the changes are things that we’ve expected, thanks to acquisitions like Nik Software and features like Communities that were introduced on the desktop last… → Read More

    March 22nd, 2013

    Watch Nokia’s Stephen Elop Lob Someone Else’s iPhone On The Floor, Promise To Replace It

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    Nokia CEO Stephen Elop is a man with a mission: to try to drum up interest in the company’s Windows Phone line of Lumia smartphones in a market saturated with Androids and iPhones. So what better way to grab a lot of eyeballs than by literally trashing someone else’s iPhone on TV? → Read More

    March 21st, 2013

    Five Out Of Six Game Of Thrones Cast Members Prefer The iPhone To Android

    TechCrunch was lucky enough to interview several of the Game of Thrones cast members before the San Francisco screening of its Season 3 Premiere. Since we work for a tech blog, we weren’t that interested in learning what they were most excited about when talking about the new season. Instead, we wanted to find out what each cast member’s smartphone of choice is. → Read More

    March 21st, 2013

    Apple Updates Podcasts App, Adds Custom Stations With iCloud Sync And Fixes Playback Resume Bug

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    Apple has just issued Podcasts version 1.2, which brings a long list of improvements to the iOS app. Among the changes are a new feature that lets users generate their own custom playlists with any podcasts they choose, with auto-updating of new episodes for each. Stations are stored in iCloud and synced across devices, and users can choose to start with either the most recent episode or oldest… → Read More

    March 21st, 2013

    Apple Says Google Now Not Submitted To The App Store. Seems Eric Was “Talking Schmidt”

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    Apple reached out to us today to clarify that regardless of comments made by Google Executive Chairman at the Big Tent event in India earlier today, it hasn’t yet received an official submission of Google Now for iOS. There’s no such app in the queue, Apple says, so Google Now on iOS is still a pipe dream for the time being. → Read More

    March 21st, 2013

    Google’s Eric Schmidt Says The Ball Is In Apple’s Court For Google Now On iPhone And iPad

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    Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt was on stage today at the Google Big Tent Summit in India, and he discussed a range of topics, including Google Now. Recent rumors posit that Google Now could make its way to iPhone and iPad, based on a supposed leaked video received by Engadget last week. Schmidt addressed a direct question about Google Now on iOS today at the Big Tent event, adding fuel to… → Read More

    March 21st, 2013

    Apple Patents iPhone Drop Protection Mechanisms That Are Built Right Into The Device

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    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

    March 19th, 2013

    Apple Zaps Lock Screen Bug With iOS 6.1.3, Also Updates Japanese Maps

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    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

    March 19th, 2013

    Vavuud Wind Meter For Smartphones Contains No Electronics, Delivers Accurate Ground Wind Speed Readings

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    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

    March 19th, 2013

    iPhone App Contains Secret Game Boy Advance Emulator, Get It Before It’s Gone [Update: It's Gone]

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    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

    March 18th, 2013

    iPhone Still Ranks Far Above Samsung Galaxy Line In Mobile Ads, Says Velti

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    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

    March 15th, 2013

    Apple’s Low-Cost iPhone Reportedly Getting The Same 4-Inch Display As iPhone 5, ‘Super-Thin’ Plastic Case

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    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

    March 14th, 2013

    Apple Patents Induction Charging Smart Covers For iPad And A Mobile Camera With Optical Zoom

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    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

    March 13th, 2013

    Apple Jumps To Second In Revenue In India’s Smartphone Market Says IDC, Thanks To Shifts In Distribution Model

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    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

    March 11th, 2013

    Early Apple iPhone Developer Prototype Looked More Like An iPad, Had Ethernet And Serial Ports

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    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

    March 8th, 2013

    An iPhone Lover’s Take On The Nexus 4

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    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

    March 7th, 2013

    More Data Showing iOS, Especially The iPhone, Still Killing It In The Enterprise, At Android’s Expense

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    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

    March 5th, 2013

    Google Maps For iPhone Updated With Google Contacts Search And Local Places Grouped By Category

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    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

    March 5th, 2013

    Apple Patents Squeeze Sensitive Device Housings That Could Be Used In Future iPhones And iPads

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    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

    March 4th, 2013

    Google Updates Chrome For Android, iPhone And iPad With Focus On Speed, Search And Sharing

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    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

    February 28th, 2013

    Home Inventory Updates Its Mac- And iPhone-Based Approach To Keeping Tabs On Your Worldly Possessions

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    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

    February 27th, 2013

    This Bluetooth Smart Trigger Turns Your iPhone Into A Canon DSLR Remote And Intervalometer

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    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

    February 27th, 2013

    Designer Imagines What An iPhone Phablet And iPhone Mini Might Look Like

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    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

    February 25th, 2013

    NeroKwik Brings Its Cloud Photo Collection And Sharing App To The iPhone And iPad

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    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

    February 22nd, 2013

    NYPD And Apple Team Up To Stop iThing Theft In NYC

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    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

    February 22nd, 2013

    Why Every Analyst Is In Love With The Siren Song Of The Low-Cost iPhone

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    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

    February 19th, 2013

    Sunrise Brilliantly Redefines Calendar Apps On iOS

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    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

    February 14th, 2013

    Scosche Adds To Your iPhone 5 And iPad Charging Options With New Lightning Line

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    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