Month: June 2012

Survey finds 21% of iOS users wouldn’t change platforms for any price

For those of you wondering if Apple still has a strong cult following, here you go: a new survey from Goldman Sachs finds that 21% of iOS users wouldn't switch to another platform, for any price.

The securities firm recently surveyed over 1000 smartphone users, in an effort to better understand the costs that consumers face when switching ecosystems. And this is what they found...

How to easily use bookmarklets in Google Chrome for iOS

A few minutes ago John Gruber tweeted about the lack of bookmarklet support in Chrome for iOS. I responded to him stating that support is indeed there, it just wasn't as straightforward as it is on Safari.

To tell the truth, I too thought that bookmarklets, or the lack thereof, was simply a medium sized oversight made by Google; after all, such things are instrumental when it comes to using tools like LastPass, Instapaper, etc.

After some tinkering around, however, I was able to confirm that bookmarklet support is indeed included in the version of Chrome that shipped a few days ago. In fact, using them is a fairly straightforward exercise. Check inside for the full how-to...

Celebrating our 1,000th video

Late last night I had the privilege of posting our 1,000th YouTube video. I've been creating videos for iDownloadBlog for almost two years now, and it's been an insanely rewarding and invigorating journey.

Oddly enough, doing video walkthroughs started off as just a test, something to spice things up every now and then at most. I never had the intentions of doing this to any great degree, let alone full time. To tell the truth, it was your kind feedback and helpful suggestions that made me want to keep going.

Of course, we started off small in our endeavors. In fact, some of the earliest creations were downright terrible in my opinion, both from a image quality and sound perpective. Despite these early hiccups, you, the viewers, have stuck with us from the beginning until now, and for that we want to thank you.

To celebrate video number 1,000, I've put together a special montage of some of my favorite moments from the last year and a half. Granted, this represents only a smidgen of what I'd like to share, but due to time I had to be realistic and limit the amount of content included.

What's been your favorite video moment thus far? We invite you inside to watch and to share your thoughts...

How to open Home screen shortcuts with Google Chrome

Earlier in the day we covered BrowserChooser, a jailbreak tweak developed by Ryan Petrich, which allows you to assign Google Chrome as your default web browser.

It's a great tweak, and works exactly as expected; it was even recently updated with a few new additions such as the ability to have a dialogue to select your browser of choice when opening a link, and the ability to make the dialogue sheets say "Open with Chrome" instead of "Open with Safari".

One thing BrowserChooser doesn't do, however, (at least for the time being that is) is allow you to open Home screen shortcuts/bookmarks created via Safari with Google Chrome. Browser Changer is a tweak that's been around for a very long time, and it was recently updated to allow you to do just that.

Check out our hands-on walkthrough inside...

Google+ SDK for iOS now available, Google confirms

Google's social thing, Google+, may be lagging behind Facebook (250 million users versus Facebook's nearly one billion globally), but the search Goliath has no intention of sitting on the sidelines.

Earlier this week, it announced that the official Google+ client would hit the iPad very soon and today the company took to the blogs to announce the official software development kit for iOS and Android.

Francis Ma, product manager with Google+, wrote in a blog post that Google+ platform for mobile is available beginning today in early developer preview...

Thoughts on the rumored 7-inch iPad

It was inevitable that after Google's Nexus 7 announcement, the "iPad Mini" rumors would start surfacing again. The 7-inch Asus-branded tablet has garnered quite a bit of attention this week.

Apple has long been believed to be working on its own 7-inch slate, with reports coming from both Apple-insiders and news outlets alike that such a product exists. But will we ever see it?

Prepaid iPhone lands on Virgin Mobile, also available via Best Buy and RadioShack

Confirming earlier reports, prepaid iPhones are now available at Virgin Mobile, a Sprint-owned carrier in the United States. The 16GB/32GB iPhone 4S will set you back $649 ($549 for the 8GB iPhone 4) with one of Virgin's no-commit plans priced between $30-$50.

The plans offer unlimited data and messaging and you can also get a $5 discount if you sign up for automatic monthly payments. The devices is available at Virgin's ten brand spanking new retail stores (their first retail outlets in the U.S.), but also over at Best Buy, RadioShack and select local retailers...

Apple caught altering App Store algorithm again

Have you been having trouble finding apps in the App Store lately? Try it now. Word has it that Apple has undone whatever it did to to the Store's search algorithm last weekend.

Last Saturday, search results in the App Store appeared to all of a sudden start favoring download numbers and other factors ahead of app names and keywords. It was bad...

Top 10 Google Chrome features for iOS

As we reported yesterday, Google Chrome was released on iOS and it was met with much fanfare. Although it's not, and probably never will be as fast as Safari (unless Apple decides to even the playing field), it tries to make up for the speed difference with awesome features like cross-platform syncing, the Omnibox, and much more.

With this in mind, we've decided to cover 10 of our favorite things about Google Chrome for iOS. Who knows? Perhaps there will be a few items on the list that you weren't even aware of...

Apple to reportedly launch revamped third-gen iPad this summer

Yeah as far as crazy rumors go, this one could be among the craziest. A new report is out this morning claiming that Apple is set to release a revamped version of its third generation iPad this summer.

The difference between this tablet and the one that Apple released three months ago is that it's supposedly going to be thinner, have better battery life, and its Retina display is going to be made by Sharp...