Month: January 2013

Court rejects Apple’s request to revive Galaxy Nexus sales ban

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 31, 2013

In another round of legal back and forth, a U.S. appeals court on Thursday again rejected Apple's attempt at the Galaxy Nexus sales ban, Reuters reports. The news gathering organization characterized the court's decision as "dashing the iPhone maker's attempt to recover crucial leverage in the global patent wars".

Apple could still appeal the decision to the United States Supreme Court though success is not guaranteed as the high court "has made it more difficult for patent plaintiffs to secure sales injunctions in recent years".

The full trial is scheduled for March 2014. The Galaxy Nexus case is based on patents that were not part of the high-stake Apple v. Samsung trial which culminated when a California jury awarded Apple with $1.05 billion in damages in August 2012...

Bloomberg: Apple and HBO working on Apple TV content deal

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

HBO fans will be happy to hear that the premium TV network is reportedly working with Apple on a content deal that would bring a large chunk of its programming to the Apple TV.

As most of you know, HBO already has an iOS app for viewing content, called HBO GO. But it doesn't support AirPlay, meaning it can't be watched on a TV via the set-top box...

NPD: iTunes dominates digital movies as physical media dies a slow death

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 29, 2017

Research firm NPD today issued a report highlighting Apple's lead concerning electronic sell through (EST) of digital movies. Now, EST comprised just sixteen percent of the larger video on demand (VOD) revenue throughout the 2012 calendar year.

At the same time, iTunes dominated the EST market with a 45 percent share. Amazon was #2 with eighteen percent, followed by the $3 Walmart-owned Vudu (fifteen percent), #4 Xbox Video (fourteen percent) and Others taking up the remaining eight percent of the market.

Movies on Blu-ray and DVD discs? These accounted for a still respectable 61 percent of home video spending on movies, excluding Netflix and other movie-streaming subscriptions. However, that figure is notably down from 64 percent in 2011, despite average prices of Blu-ray movies falling seven percent to $19.97 per unit. Steve Jobs was right, Blu-ray indeed is "a bag of hurt"...

5 tweaks that you must download after jailbreaking iOS 6

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

Once the iOS 6 jailbreak is released, there are a few tweaks that you absolutely must download. Thankfully, Cydia will be better equipped to handle the barrage of users so that you will be able to download all of your favorite apps and tweaks with little issue.

While we wait, why not consider a few of my must-have jailbreak tweaks for iOS 6? Post jailbreak, we'll follow up with more recommended apps and tweaks, but we think this list would be enough to wet your appetite...

Apple buys 18 ‘axis-based user interface’ patents from Maya-Systems

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

This is kind of interesting. Maya-Systems, which describes itself as a knowledge management technology provider, announced today that a transaction took place between it and Apple in the third quarter of last year. It seems the Cupertino company acquired 18 patents from them "relating to innovative axis-based user interface technology."

Winocm developing iOS 6.X to iOS 5.1.1 downgrade, includes A5+ devices

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Winocm tweeted today that he was working on a method for downgrading from iOS 6 to 5.1.1 that will work on all devices. This is noteworthy as downgrades on most A5+ devices were either difficult, in the case of the iPad 2, or not possible in Redsn0w once Apple stopped signing the iOS 5 firmware.

Winocm is known for his work in PS3 firmware hacking and contributes tweaks such as CameraConnector to Cydia under the name 'rms'. Winocm seems to be working on a lot of projects: A day before the downgrade tweet, Winocm posted a video of linux booting up on an iPhone 4 to YouTube (pictured above)...

‘Pages+’ adds customizable backgrounds to each Home screen page, boasts Barrel compatibility

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

Evasi0n, the much anticipated jailbreak tool for iOS 6 compatible devices, will be available in the very near future. With that in mind, many jailbreak developers are updating their tweaks and apps, and even establishing brand new creations to prepare for the new jailbreak.

One such developer is SBCoders, the same team behind such hits as Aero and Dash. SBCoders' latest creation, the yet to be released Pages+, continues the tradition of solid jailbreak tweaks. Pages+ allows you to customize each page on the iPhone's Home screen. You can accomplish this by means of custom wallpaper packs, or by its built in page tinting system.

The most exciting thing about Pages+, however, is that it plays nice with Aaron Ash's Barrel. Barrel, of course, is the jailbreak app that allows you to implement various page transitions on your iPhone. When you mix both creations together, you're guaranteed to get some wild results.

New Apple TV could hint at A5X iPad mini with Retina display

Cody Lee ∙ January 31, 2013

The unknown 'Apple TV 3,2' device caused a lot of commotion when it was first discovered in iOS 6.1 earlier this week. It has a faster processor than the current model, and a lot of folks figured it was the next-gen Apple TV.

Apple, however, crushed the hype when they announced yesterday that the 3,2 ATV was nothing more than a component change. But according to some recent chatter, there may be more to the device than meets the eye...

Holiday quarter Surface RT sales barely half the shipments

Ed Sutherland ∙ January 31, 2013

Although Microsoft's Surface RT is not yet in the bargain bin of tablets, a fire sale could appear any day. That's the impression from a report that the software giant turned tablet player is selling as few as 55 percent of Surface's shipped. But wait, there's more bad news: A "very high" rate of the Surface RT tablets are being returned to stores.

If true, Microsoft sold between 680,000 and 750,000 of the 1.25 million Surface RT tablets shipped during the fourth quarter of 2012. Little wonder, then that production of the first Surface has likely halted, according to one hardware research firm Thursday...

Apple to discontinue Mac Pro in Europe on March 1

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 24, 2016

Apple will reportedly discontinue the Mac Pro in Europe beginning March 1. The unexpected decision isn't a result of low demand for Apple's pro desktop, as conventional wisdom would have you believe. The real reason is simple, really: Apple's aging top-of-the-line desktop just doesn't meet a new European product regulation standards effective March 1.

The current Mac Pro line will continue to be available in other markets that don't have the new European product certification standards in place. Apple has emailed its resellers across Europe informing them they can place Mac Pro orders up until February 18 for shipment before March 1, 2013...

iPad 5 to use same thin-film touchscreen tech as iPad mini

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

Although reports regarding Apple's next-generation tablet can't seem to settle on a release date, they do seem to agree about most everything else. The iPad 5 is said to sport an all-new, mini-like design with smaller bezels and a much thinner profile.

Of course, this raises the question: how does Apple plan to make the tablet thinner while keeping its Retina display and 10-hour battery life? Well for starters, it's reportedly going to use the same thin-film touchscreen tech found in the iPad mini...

Temple Run 2 hits 50M downloads in under two weeks

Cody Lee ∙ January 31, 2013

After announcing last week that its new title, Temple Run 2, saw 20 million downloads in its first 4 days, Imangi Studios is back today with news of another record-breaking milestone.

Today, they announced that the sequel to the popular endless-runner game has been downloaded more than 50 million times on iOS, Android and Kindle devices in less than 2 weeks...