U.S. Air Force could save $50M using 18,000 iPads

By Ed Sutherland on May 17, 2013

Taking a lesson learned by civilian airlines, the U.S. Air Force has purchased 18,000 iPads expected to save more than $50 million over the next decade. The move from bulky paper flight manuals to tablets should save nearly $6 million each year in fuel and printing costs.

In an interview, the airlift arm of the U.S. military said the switch to 32GB Wi-Fi Retina iPads as electronic flight bags would reduce aircraft weight by 90 pounds per aircraft – up to 490 pounds for huge C-5 transports. In 2012, American Airlines received FAA go-ahead to use iPads in the cockpit… Read More

 

Pentagon clears iPhones and iPads

By Christian Zibreg on May 17, 2013

As expected, the Pentagon has finally approved Apple’s iPhone and iPad devices for use on the United States military networks, Bloomberg learned Friday. The clearance sets the stage for Apple to compete with Samsung and BlackBerry for military sales. According to the report, the Defense Department today approved the use of Apple’s portable products running the iOS 6 software… Read More

 

Apple reportedly cuts back on iPad mini screens ahead of next-gen model

By Christian Zibreg on May 17, 2013

The hit-and-miss DigiTimes, a Taiwanese trade publication, Friday reported that Apple is expected to cut back on iPad mini display orders in the third quarter of 2013 as it gears up to manufacture a second-generation iPad mini.

According to the publication’s supply chain sources, AU Optronics’ (AUO) shipments of panels for the iPad mini are expected to decrease from four million units in the first quarter of 2013 to 2.5-2.8 million units in the second.

AUO is also expected to see more order cuts going into the third quarter – not due to weak demand, but because it’s facing manufacturing issues so Apple is now expected to buy its iPad mini panels mainly from rival LG Display, which is also a rumored supplier of Retina-grade screens for the second-generation iPad mini… Read More

 

Google updates Play Books with support for user uploaded files

By Cody Lee on May 16, 2013

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

 

New report claims iPad mini with 2048 x 1536 display coming this fall

By Cody Lee on May 16, 2013

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

 

App Store hits 50 billion downloads

By Cody Lee on May 15, 2013

Apple’s App Store just crossed a major milestone this afternoon. Just a few moments ago, the digital storefront passed the 50 billion download mark, bringing the company’s “50 Billion App Countdown” to an end.

The winner of the countdown promotion, who has yet to be revealed, will be given a $10,000 iTunes gift card, good for apps, videos, books and music. And fifty additional lucky winners will receive $500 gift cards… Read More

 

Google previews next major Maps update, coming to iOS this summer

By Cody Lee on May 15, 2013

You know, it wouldn’t be a Google I/O keynote without some kind of talk about Maps. Larry Page and company have made it very clear that its mapping technology is a big part of its future. And they gave us a bit of a glimpse of that future today.

Google will be releasing a big update for its Android and iOS Maps app this summer. And among several new features and updates, we’re happy to see that the software will finally be landing on the iPad. More details on the update after the fold… Read More

 

Airlines split on whether iPhones pose in-flight danger

By Ed Sutherland on May 15, 2013

If you thought the question over in-flight electronics was settled, think again. Although the Federal Aviation Administration is expected to announce in July whether to relax current rules governing in-flight use of iPhones, iPads and other devices, questions remain about their safety.

Wednesday, Bloomberg recounted testimony from pilots and others calling into question whether some devices – particularly those using cellular connections – may interfere with newer GPS-based navigation. In one instance, pilots believe an iPhone caused their airliner to fly miles off course… Read More

 

Major Pinterest update brings push notifications, mentions and more

By Cody Lee on May 14, 2013

Say what you will about Pinterest. But with more than 50 million users, and a staggering $2.5 billion valuation, you can’t ignore it. It has become a social networking powerhouse, and it doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.

With that being said, the company released a major update for its iOS app today. The update, which brings the app to version 2.4, includes a handful of new features and improvements like push notifications, mentions and more… Read More

 

Square’s stylish Stand accessory taps iPad to reinvent the cash register

By Christian Zibreg on May 14, 2013

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s other startup, the payment service Square, today announced an interesting hardware dubbed the Square Stand. The all-white stylish accessory lets merchants run their business from an iPad and requires the Square Register iPad app to process payments. The Stand shouldn’t be confused with the Business in a Box, Square’s $299 (and up) bundle that incorporates an uglier iPad stand, cash drawer and an optional receipt printer… Read More

 

ABC to start live streaming content via iOS apps this week

By Cody Lee on May 13, 2013

This is kind of interesting. ABC, a TV network under the Walt Disney umbrella, is set to revolutionize its iPhone and iPad apps this week. It’s going to be adding a new ‘Live’ viewing option to the software, which will [obviously] play live programming.

The live stream will work anywhere in a local market—as long as it’s supported— the same way an old-fashioned antenna would. And according to The New York Times, this is the first time that a major broadcaster has turned on this kind of technology… Read More

 

iPhone, iPad granted security clearance for Pentagon’s network

By Cody Lee on May 12, 2013

It appears that all of that talk regarding iOS devices being close to gaining Pentagon clearance was spot on. Bloomberg is reporting this weekend that the US Department of Defense plans to give Apple security clearance later this week.

As we’ve discussed before, the DoD’s approval would mean a lot for the Cupertino company, who has been trying to get its iPhone and iPad into government buildings, that were once reserved for BlackBerry, for quite some time now… Read More

 

Kill apps in a single swipe with Slide2Kill

By Cody Lee on May 12, 2013

Like Sebastien, I uninstalled the popular jailbreak tweak Auxo earlier this year. Though beautifully designed, the app switcher replacement felt a little too bloated for me, and I was convinced that it made my iPhone slower.

I do miss a few of Auxo’s features though, like its revamped iPod controls and the ability to swipe down on an app icon to close it out of the switcher. But luckily, a new tweak just came out that takes care of the latter for me… Read More

 

Quickly clear your Messages text field with Triple Tap To Clear

By Cody Lee on May 11, 2013

Inputting text on the iPhone can be a tedious task. It’s not so much the typing. But due to limited display space, editing can be irksome. It seems like doing things such as copying or deleting text are more complicated than they need to be.

Case in point, try typing a lengthy message in your Messages app. Now delete the whole thing. As it stands, the fastest way to do this is to tap on your text, ‘Select All’ and then delete it. But as with most things in iOS, it could always be faster…. Read More

 

Customize the look of your Home screen icons with Athena

By Cody Lee on May 11, 2013

Folks who enjoy customizing their iOS devices, but hate overweight theming apps like WinterBoard, might want to check out Athena. The new jailbreak tweak, developed by SuperDev, allows you to completely change the look of your Home screen icons.

Want dark icons? No problem. Want pink icons? No problem. Athena has a wide array of settings that enable you to change nearly everything about the color attributes of your app icons, providing you with seemingly endless customization options… Read More

 

Microsoft can’t convince Apple to update iTunes for Windows 8 Metro devices

By Ed Sutherland on May 10, 2013

Remember all the back-and-forth between Apple and Microsoft before tablets? We heard echoes of that earlier this week when the software giant announced Apple’s iTunes app won’t be available for Windows 8 Metro tablet users any time soon. Although iTunes continues to be available as a Windows 8 Desktop mode app, the lack of a Metro edition leaves owners of Windows tablets in the cold. Even worse is that owners of the Surface RT tablet – which by the way runs only Microsoft apps – will be stuck with just Redmond’s Music app… Read More

 

14-year-old discovers iPads can be dangerous to heart patients

By Cody Lee on May 10, 2013

As Apple has proven in its TV ads, you can use a number of words to describe its products. But I imagine it never thought that one of those words would be “dangerous.” According to new research, though, that’s exactly what the iPad is for certain heart patients.

A 14 year-old has discovered that the tiny magnets inside Apple’s tablet, used for Smart Covers, can inadvertently shut off a heart patient’s implanted defibrillator–a battery-powered electrical impulse generator— if near their chest for an extended period of time… Read More

 

Canalys: one in five smart devices are Apple

By Ed Sutherland on May 9, 2013

Research firm Canalys Thursday offered data on first-quarter smart mobile device shipments, with an estimated 300+ million new units for a 37.4 percent year-over-year growth. Google’s Android powered 59 percent and Apple’s iOS powered a little over nineteen percent of these devices, according to researchers. Key takeaways: Android leads the smartphone race, Apple is holding onto the tablet market and laptop demand continues falling.

Pay attention to Canalys’s parlance because ‘smart mobile devices’ include smartphones, tablets and laptops. Another important caveat: Canalys stats don’t divulge shipped vs sold units. This is an important distinction as a device shipped into a channel does not automatically result in a device sold to a consumer… Read More

 

Pegatron CEO: Bloomberg is lying about ‘falling iPad mini demand’

By Christian Zibreg on May 9, 2013

The credulous Bloomberg yesterday covered Pegatron’s investor conference where the contract manufacturer announced a whopping 80 percent year-over-year growth in first-quarter profits.

Pegatron also cautioned investors that second-quarter revenue may drop between 20 and 30 percent amid the broader decline in consumer electronics demand.

However, writer Tim Culpan decided the story wasn’t newsworthy enough in and of itself. And in his quest for pageviews, the reporter reckoned he better run the piece under the more Apple’s doomsday headline, “Falling iPad mini demand to push Pegatron electronics sales down.”

Well, guess what? 24 hours later, Pegatron CEO steps forward and tells the media that Culpan put those words in his mouth and completely fabricated the ‘falling iPad mini demand’ part. And there goes Bloomberg’s credibility right down the drain… Read More

 

USPTO publishes Apple’s extensive Lightning connector patent

By Ed Sutherland on May 9, 2013

Much has been written about Apple’s new Lightning connector, introduced with the iPhone 5 to supercede the aging 30-pin Dock connection. Thursday, the United States Patent and Trademark Office published three Apple patent filings from 2012 detailing how the Lightning connector is built. Among the questions addressed: how did Apple create an “orientation agnostic” connector design while also ensuring stability and proper alignment? Read More

 
Page 212345...