Month: September 2012

Street View coming to Google Maps mobile web app in two weeks

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 26, 2012

I just read through David Pogue's freshly published article on the Mapgate situation and noticed a couple interesting revelations. The New York Times technology columnist says that in two weeks, you’ll be able to get Street View in the Google Maps mobile web on your iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

Right now, you can use Safari on your iOS device to navigate to maps.google.com and use Google's maps on the web, though without spoken directions (you'll get written directions instead). More tidbits right below...

Streamweaver lets you jointly record multi-angle video with friends

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

If you are a fan of iPhone photography (and perhaps are following our iPhoneography series), you're gonna love this little gem. Streamweaver is a new multi-angle video app with a novel approach to mobile video recording. First, invite a bunch of friends to use the app. Then, each one of you gets to record the same scene from a different angle.

Finally, the program combines your uploaded video streams and plays them back in a single split-screen video that shows all the angles together. It's simple, clean, straightforward and works as advertised. Best of all, Streamweaver is provided free of charge...

Voice navigation was a deal-breaker in the Apple-Google maps talks

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 26, 2012

The Verge reported yesterday that Apple could have kept Google Maps until iOS 7 as Google's contract to keep the maps app on the iPhone had more time remaining. A new report sheds more light on the matter, with sources claiming that talks between the two Silicon Valley technology giants crashed over voice-assisted navigation.

Long story short, Google fought hard to bomb the deal as it wouldn't hand over the data needed to bring voice-guided navigation to a competing platform. Instead, the search Goliath continued to offer advanced location and navigation features on Android, widening the gap as it differentiated its platform from Apple...

Low-light shootout: iPhone 5 vs Lumia 920 vs Nokia 808 PureView vs HTC One X vs Galaxy S III

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 26, 2012

The biggest change in the iSight camera found on the back of the iPhone 5 is not its sapphire lens cover, the new panorama mode, faster performance, better video stabilization or crisper photos stemming from enhanced post-processing capabilities provided by the heavily customized, Apple-designed A6 chip.

It's its markedly better performance in low-light situations. The difference between the iPhone 4S and 5 camera becomes readily apparent on photos taken under artificial light, poorly lit scenes or no light at all.

By way of Engadget, we are now able to compare night shots taken on the iPhone 5 against those snapped up using Nokia's newly introduced Lumia 920, Nokia 808 PureView device, HTC's flagship One X and of course, Samsung's Galaxy S III. Who do you think came on top?

More iPhone bashing in two new Galaxy ads

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 26, 2012

You've seen Samsung marketing department's response to the massive iPhone 5 launch. Here's more of the same. Another one right after the break...

How to get live filters back in Instagram on the iPhone 5

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 8, 2016

Intstagram pulled a Skitch with yesterday's update in that the company has removed live filters from the iPhone 5. As Instagram fans could tell you, the live previewing feature is pretty popular because it lets you quickly apply Instagram's trademark photo filters right before hitting the shutter button, so you can see what the photo being taken would look like with the desired effect.

Though Instagram confirmed that live filters will be phased out from both the iOS and Android apps, developers left a stealthy workaround in place to re-enable live previewing on the iPhone 5...

China approves WCDMA and CDMA iPhone 5

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

The iPhone 5 has overcome its last significant regulatory hurdle for approval in China. Two models of the new iPhone received approval from the China Compulsory Certificate (or 3C), allowing China Unicom and China Telecom to sell the Apple smartphone by the end of 2012, CNET reports...

Survey: iOS 6 leading to increased iPhone customer dissatisfaction

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

For the first time, an iOS upgrade is leaving a bad taste in consumers' mouths. While it's usually the case that upgrades are viewed as improving the iPhone experience, a new survey finds iOS 6 actually hurt Apple's sterling customer service reputation. Apple's decision to replace Google Maps with its own service appears to be the root cause, say researchers.

"We have always seen an increase in device satisfaction as consumers upgrade their mobile operating system from one version to another," On Device DEO Alistair Hill told TechCrunch. While the rating for the upgrade from iOS 4 to iOS 5 received high marks, the move to iOS 6 saw ratings decrease to 7.65 from 7.75. On Device surveyed nearly 16,000 U.S. iPhone owners...

Apple reportedly ordering carbon fiber parts for a mysterious new product

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Forget about Liquidmetal: Apple is said to be ordering parts made of carbon fiber and these are allegedly for a mysterious new product. A Japanese supplier has apparently been commissioned to deliver carbon fiber items, but quantities are said to far surpass what constitutes a sample.

Coincidentally or not, Apple's patent filings indicate that the company has been researching carbon-fiber enclosures for quite some time. Now, imagine if you a will a carbon fiber-clad iOS device which doesn't get easily scratched and is even more lightweight than your Unibody aluminum iPhone 5...

Google Play Store: 675,000 apps, 25 billion downloads

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 26, 2012

Google is creeping up on Apple, announcing yesterday on its Android blog that its Play Store now has 675,000 apps which have been downloaded 25 billion times. It was just recently that Google bragged about half a billion cumulative Android activations and on September 5 the search Goliath announced it was activating 70,000 tablets and 1.3 million Android devices each day.

At this rate, Google should have no trouble surpassing Apple's platform by year's end. By comparison, Apple's App Store carried over 750,000 apps and the company sold a total of 425 million iOS devices, as of September 12. The iPhone maker said earlier at WWDC that customers downloaded over 30 billion apps as of June...

Apple could have kept Google Maps until iOS 7

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 26, 2012

Apple could have kept the stock iOS Google Maps for another year, if it wanted, a new report alleges. When Apple publicly announced in June it would drop the native Google Maps app in favor of its own solution, Google was shocked as its contract with Apple to keep the maps app on the iPhone "had more time remaining", the New York Times reports.

Luckily, if the paper's sources are to be believed, Google is working on a standalone Google Maps app though it won't be released immediately because Google wants to do it right and incorporate 3D view as it wants the program to be comparable to Apple Maps, namely its three-dimensional Flyover views of major cities...

Incipio’s DualPro case with silicone core will protect your iPhone 5

Jim Gresham ∙ Updated October 10, 2018

Spanning three continents, like the old British empire, the Sun never sets on Incipio, allowing them to operate 24 hours per day. Their tireless approach makes them a world-wide leader in fresh and innovative designs that protect and enhance our mobile devices.

Incipio pushed an iPhone 5 accessory line concurrently with the release of the iPhone last Friday, and I was thankful to not only get a FedEx box with my shiny new iPhone, but also received a care package from my friend at Incipio with a DualPro inside. I am pumped about this new case and plan on using it frequently...