Great news Supernatural fans. The CW television network has reportedly struck a deal with Apple to bring the popular TV show, among other programming, to the Apple TV. It currently has applications out for the Xbox 360 and Windows 8.
The news came during the company’s annual Upfront Presentation in New York today, where CW president Mark Pedowitz announced that its TV Now application would be coming to Apple’s beloved set top box sometime later this year… Read More
Just days after rival research firm Gartner released quarterly sales for iOS and Android, rival IDC today announced similar numbers for shipments of smartphones. Combined, iOS and Android maintained their stranglehold on the smartphone market, accounting for more than an astounding 92 percent of shipments during the first quarter of 2013.
In a surprising move, shipments of the Windows Phone smartphone operating system surpassed the BlackBerry OS, putting Microsoft in third place behind Android and iOS. I bet you didn’t see that one coming… Read More
Yesterday, word got out that Tim Cook would be testifying at a senate hearing next week over Apple’s tax practices. The hearing was called after the iPad-maker took on billions in debt to fund its shareholder return plan, rather than paying taxes on its offshore cash.
The move reportedly saved the Cupertino company around $9 billion in various tax charges, bringing it to the forefront of an ongoing debate about the legality of offshore tax evasion. But in a recent interview, Tim Cook says that Apple isn’t doing anything wrong… Read More
Two big numbers were coincidentally dropped yesterday. First, Google announced 48 billion applications had been downloaded from the Google Play Store. Shortly after, Apple announced that its App Store had seen 50 billion downloads so far. Big numbers indeed, but how exactly do Apple and Google count app downloads? The Next Web Managing Editor Matthew Panzarino asked both companies and this is what he found:
Both Apple and Google tabulate unique downloads of apps per user account. This means that they count only one download of an app no matter how many devices that you install that app on after you purchase it. Neither company counts updates in its app download numbers. These are purely single downloads from their stores.
Read the full article at The Next Web.
How many times have you been sitting around with friends when their phone rings and you hear the opening theme to Knight Rider, or the subtle hum of the Starship Enterprise and thought to yourself, “Dang, I wish I had that ringtone.” Well, now you can and it won’t cost you a dime.
You can convert any song or audio clip in your iTunes library into a ringtone with a few simple steps. We’ve got a step-by-step tutorial to show you how to create awesome ringtones that will make you the envy of the party… Read More
A few days ago, we were contacted by one of the developers of a jailbreak theme I had never heard of before called iMIUI. In the email they told us that we just had to check out their theme, saying it could be the next ayecon.
Given that Surenix’s ayecon theme is easily the most popular in the jailbreak community right now, that’s a pretty bold statement. But after using iMIUI over the past few days, I’m starting to think they might just be right… Read More
Following recent budget iPhone concept by Martin Hajek (itself based on nice iOS 7 mockups by 3D artist Dámaso Benítez), German blog Apfellike.de yesterday shared a similar rendition by Jürgen Ulbrich. Like many 3D artists before him, Dámaso is striving to envision what iOS 7 running on the next iPhone might look like. I’m liking his work a lot and have included a few images and a nice video mockup right after the break… Read More
Things are really starting to heat up between Apple and the US Department of Justice over this e-book price fixing scandal. The DoJ filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple last year for allegedly conspiring with major book publishers to raise e-book prices.
And with the trial set to kick off in a few weeks, there’s beginning to be a lot of activity between the two. Yesterday, a DoJ filing popped up that called Apple out for facilitating the price fixing. And today, a potentially damning email from Steve Jobs has surfaced… Read More
Apple just dropped a 129 MB iTunes 11.0.3 update and it brings quite a few new features to the iconic app. The big ticket item, if you will, is a new MiniPlayer, which is a bit ironic given the release schedule of the jailbreak version of MiniPlayer for iOS.
iTunes’ updated MiniPlayer now features a beautiful new view that shows off album artwork. The new MiniPlayer also includes a handy progress bar this time around to track the song’s playhead location.
You’ll also find an improved songs view, which allows you to enjoy album artwork in that view. Lastly, you’ll notice support for proper multi-disc albums. Check inside for the full change log. Read More
We’ve probably all been there at least once. You have a jailbroken device on a certain firmware, and it’s the last firmware that’s capable of being jailbroken. What happens if you need to restore it?
In most cases, unless you’re using an older device capable of being downgraded, you would be forced up to the current firmware. The problem with doing this is that it causes you to lose your jailbreak.
That’s where a new app called Semi-Restore claims to be able to help. It will, according to its website, allow jailbroken users to refresh their devices with the firmware that’s currently on the device. For example, if you’re running iOS 6.1.2, you can clean the device and semi-restore to 6.1.2. It’s not a full restore, because doing so would force you to upgrade, but it might be the next best thing, especially if your device is having problems or is running slow. Read More
Previously code-named Babel, Google yesterday announced its new cross-platform unified messaging product called Hangouts. Shortly after, the software surfaced on Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play store for Android.
In replacing Google Talk, Hangouts supports one-on-one and group chatting across desktop, Android and Apple devices and includes photos, emoji, and video calls.
In a nutshell, the app integrates messaging from Google’s GTalk, Google+ Messenger, Hangouts and Voice products. But that’s just scratching the surface as Google obviously has big plans with the product… Read More
BGR, the tech blog with a mixed track record, is known for occasionally leaking credible information about Apple’s upcoming products. And with the next iPhone looming on the horizon, BGR has exclusively obtained high-quality parts photos believed to depict a number of internal components for the iPhone 5S.
From what we could glean from these shots, Apple’s handset could undergo a more substantial internal overhaul than previously thought. Go past the fold for full details… Read More
The iPhone is quickly becoming (or already has) the hottest digital camera on the planet. Not only does it have terrific imaging power, but with its screen is able to easily compose attractive shots. Knowing the power of the iPhone and other iDevices, Apple continually tweaks its photo-imaging capabilities.
The latest evidence being a new patent application describing a way to combine the resources of multiple devices to provide what’s being called a ‘social camera flash.’ The idea isn’t new. So-called slave flashes that act on the command of a main camera have been in professional photo studios for years. However, Apple’s patent application envisions iPhones, iPads and iPods linked wirelessly to illuminate a scene… Read More
Apple crossed a major milestone yesterday afternoon, with the official App Store Twitter channel confirming the company hit 50 billion app downloads. As part of its countdown promotion, the iPhone maker today issued a press release revealing the lucky winner who won a $10,000 iTunes Gift card, good for apps, videos, books and music. Additionally, per Apple’s rules fifty additional lucky winners will take home $500 iTunes gift cards each… Read More
I secretly love time management games. I know they are silly. I should be spending my time mining asteroids or building empires. But, I can’t help but love watching those funny little men run around fixing things at my behest in the fastest possible time.
Royal Envoy 2 HD (Premium) is the iPad-exclusive sequel to the time management game of the same name. Players must repair houses, clear roads, and make life better for townsfolk within the empire. Get it done in the fastest possible time or the King will have your hide… Read More
On my quest to find a quality sleeve for my iPhone 5 and iPad mini, I stumbled upon many fakes or wannabe premium options. In fact, I have yet to find a sleeve to request for review. Thankfully, Kouros found me. A Portugal-based company priding itself on quality ingredients for its products, Kouros makes an exceptional sleeve for both iPhone 5 and mini.
All products are designed by the in house creative team through regular brainstorming, focusing on fashion trends that are practical for a technologically driven lifestyle. To that end, the company uses rigorous testing methods to ensure longevity, suitable look, and proper feel. For this review, I take a close look at the Essence for iPad mini and Prime for iPhone 5, both of which are simplistic, professional leather sleeves… Read More
Google kicked off its annual I/O developers conference yesterday with its customary keynote. The search giant used the nearly 4-hour long affair to announce new software and services, including Spotify-like Play Music All Access and Hangouts messaging.
Additionally, Google also took the opportunity yesterday to update some of its apps. It gave Gmail some new action buttons, showed off a preview of its upcoming Maps update, and released a new version of its Play Books app for both iOS and Android… Read More
While alleged iPhone 5S component leaks continue to surface, we’ve heard and seen little news lately regarding the next generation iPad mini. The highly anticipated refresh is expected to fix the most common complaint in the slate’s otherwise glowing reviews: the display.
Over the past few months, we’ve seen several reports claiming that Apple is going to be adding a Retina display to its popular 8-inch tablet this year. And we’ve got a new one today that corroborates that theory, claiming that the device is set to land in the third quarter… Read More
Good news for all of you iPhone power users out there. The California-based accessory-maker Mophie took the wraps off a new battery case today for the iPhone 5: the Juice Pack Plus.
This is the third case we’ve seen from Mophie for the iPhone 5, and it’s also the most powerful. Forget about built-in 1500 and 1700 mAh batteries, this one has a 2,100 mAh pack… Read More
In a recent bond offering, Apple took on billions of dollars in debt in order to finance an initiative to return some of its cash to shareholders. Its plan is to give $100 billion back to investors, by way of dividends and stock buybacks, by 2015.
Since most of its cash is offshore, Apple’s decision to take on debt instead of tapping its own $150 billion cash pile helped it sidestep an estimated $9 billion in taxes. Unfortunately, it’s also caught the attention of the US government… Read More
